People had nitnem and a lot of other bani's memorized. We have gotten lazy and complacent, we don't even try to memorize any bani. Think about it, if you had the entire nitnem memorized, you could be anywhere and still be able to do your nitnem. If you are going to school or work, this could save you 40 minutes easily as you don't even have to sit down to do your nitnem. You could do it while you are on the bus!