Unravel the secrets of the Feynman Learning Technique, a revolutionary approach to knowledge acquisition. Discover how this method, pioneered by Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, can transform your learning process, enhancing comprehension and retention.
The Feynman Learning Technique
It leverages the power of teaching for better learning
- Information is learned when you can explain it and use it in a wide variety of situations.
- The more you know, the fewer surprises you will encounter, because most new things will connect to something you already understand.
Richard Feynman also provided advice on how to sort through information so you can decide what is relevant and what you should bother learning.
In a series of non-technical lectures in 1963, memorialized in a short book called The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist, Feynmann talks through basic reasoning and some of the problems of his day
- Not everything needs to be considered with scientific accuracy
- It’s up to you to determine where applying these tricks might be most beneficial in your life
- Regardless of what you are trying to gather information on, these tricks help you dive deeper into topics and ideas and not get waylaid by inaccuracies or misunderstandings on your journey to know something
Conclusion
Knowing something is valuable
- Being willing and able to question your knowledge and the knowledge of others is how you keep improving
- The Feynman Learning Technique is a great method to develop mastery over sets of information
- Learning is a journey. Once you do, the knowledge becomes a powerful tool at your disposal
The Feynman Technique
Pretend to teach a concept you want to learn about to a student in the sixth grade
- Identify gaps in your explanation
- Go back to the source material to better understand it
- Organize and simplify
- When someone asks you a question, you can only repeat what you’ve already learned
- Simple terms with other words help you communicate your understanding
- Being able to explain your understanding without jargon and in simple terms allows you to demonstrate your understanding
What does it mean to “know?”
Richard Feynman believed that “the world is much more interesting than any one discipline.”
- When you know something, labels are unimportant, because it’s not necessary to keep it in the box it came in.
- Knowing the name of something doesn’t mean you understand it. We talk in fact-deficient, obfuscating generalities to cover up our lack of understanding.
