Why is 2, the ability to grind/memorize random problems, important for any company? I can't think of any company I've worked at, where that would be useful during my day to day work.
You don't think rote learning is a desirable skill of candidates that employers look for?
Can you think of anything we do for, say, the first two decades of our life, that could send this signal?
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't think the ability to memorize dozens of algorithms and then spit them out on demand is really that useful to most practicing software developers, nor is it a good signal about one's technical expertise.