Yes, it does. I mean, that's a lot of material. You prepare for the interview, thus showing them how dedicated you are. No matter how "smart" you are, time passes, you don't use 95% of that stuff during day to day work so naturally you forget most of it. So for the next endeavor you have to rinse and repeat. Everyone agrees that it's a game. I think the companies like it because it discourages employees to switch jobs often and easily.
This description bears no resemblance to the interview process I experienced at Google before going to work there in 2012.
Interesting. Could you please elaborate?
Where have you been interviewing? And how many interviews have you done so far?