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- The Feynman technique can be used to learn anything.
- It was devised by the Nobel laureate Richard Feynman.
- The idea is that when you can teach something in the simplest way possible, you will master it.
The physicist Richard Feynman believed that simplicity was the key to learning.
Feynman worked on the Manhattan Project when he was only 20 years old.
He went on to win the Nobel Prize in 1965 for his work in quantum electrodynamics, along with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga.
Feynman believed that truth lies in simplicity and that things are easier to learn and retain when they're simpler.
When your knowledge of something is full of complex explanations and terms taken from textbooks, you're less likely to grasp it.
He's famously been quoted as saying, "You must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
The goal of learning is to understand the world better. But more often than not, the way we learn doesn't help us to achieve this.
You end up memorizing something exactly as it's written in a book or as the teacher explained it to you, so it doesn't take long for this knowledge to disappear.
This is where the Feynman technique comes in.
The idea is to make things simple enough for anyone to understand. In doing this, you can acquire a deep understanding of the topic you're studying.
The Feynman technique has four steps.
1. Choose a topic and start studying it
Feynman's technique isn't limited to mathematics or physics. You can apply it to anything.
2. Explain the topic to a child
This step allows you to establish whether you've learned what you studied or you just thought you had.
Explain the concept in your own words as if you were trying to teach it to a child.
When you try to break things down into simple ideas with plainer vocabulary, you'll realize whether or not your knowledge of the subject is sufficient.
This makes it easy to identify any gaps in your knowledge.
3. Go back to the study material when you get stuck
Only when you can explain the subject in simple terms will you understand it.
This means the knowledge will stick with you and not disappear, as it can when you try to memorize something.
Review your notes and study material for anything you still don't understand.
Try to explain it to yourself in an easy way. If it's too difficult or if you have to use terms from a textbook, then you still haven't got it.
4. Organize and review
Don't stop until you can deliver a simple, natural explanation.
Go back to steps two and three as many times as you need.
It probably won't take as long as you think.
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