That’s definitely not how I learned it, nor how my kids have learned it. I vividly remember writing out “2 x 3 = 2 + 2 + 2 = 3 + 3.” I later memorized the multiplication table up to 12, yes, but that was not a replacement of understanding what multiplication was
> but that was not a replacement of understanding what multiplication was
You're conflating an algorithm in N or Z with inherent meaning.
Let's shift over to R: Expand e*pi to repeated addition.
Think exponentiation is "repeated multiplication"? Try 2^pi.