The Feynman Technique is a learning technique created by award-winning physicist Richard Feynman. It teaches students how to break down complex concepts.
Have you ever been puzzled by a concept (or entire course) in school? I certainly have and the feeling of it sucks.
But there is a solution to this.
It isn’t easy, but if you take the time to go through the process, it can be awarding (and more importantly, help you do well on that quiz that’s coming up).
This learning method is called the Feynman Technique.
What is the Feynman Technique?
The Feynman Technique is a learning process created by physicist Richard Feynman.
The technique helps you break down complex concepts into simple definitions.
This method allows you to learn new topics quickly.
It does this by forcing you to constantly check your understanding of concepts and simplifying it to the point where a person with no knowledge of the topic can understand it.
You have to water it down until it is in plain, simple language.
Whenever you’re learning a new topic, after you’ve finished learning, ask yourself these two questions:
• Does this make sense?
• Could I explain this to a five-year-old? pic.twitter.com/vJBwzbZyuU— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) June 16, 2020
Who was Richard Feynman?
Richard Feynman was an American Physicist and Noble Prize Winner.
He is most known for his contributions to quantum mechanics and particle physics. He also pioneered quantum computing and introduced the concept of nanotechnology.
Feynman was often referred to as “The Great Explainer.” He had the ability to make big theories understandable to laymen.
This contributed to his success because he had to have a good grasp of concepts to be able to clearly explain it.
In his biography, written by James Gleick, it provides an example of how the prize-winning physicist learned. Via Doist:
“In preparing for his oral qualifying examination, a rite of passage for every graduate student, he chose not to study the outlines of known physics. Instead he went up to MIT, where he could be alone, and opened a fresh notebook.
On the title page he wrote: Notebook Of Things I Don’t Know About. For the first but not the last time he reorganized his knowledge. He worked for weeks at disassembling each branch of physics, oiling the parts, and putting them back together, looking all the while for the raw edges and inconsistencies. He tried to find the essential kernels of each subject. When he was done he had a notebook of which he was especially proud.”
How to Use/Do the Feynman Technique
Curious how to learn like Feynman? Here’s the process of his technique:
First, choose a topic that you want to learn and write it down.
Second, write down explanations of the topic as if you were teaching it to someone or as if you were creating a teaching plan.
Third, go over your explanations and find definitions you had trouble understanding.
Ask yourself if a young student would understand it (or person with no knowledge of the topic).
If the answer is no, review the concept in your text or notes. Then, re-write your explanations.
Fourth, go over your notes again and see if there is anything more you can simplify.
Make sure all complex and jargon are replaced with simple language.
Again, make sure you can explain it to someone who knows nothing about the topic.
When I was in college, there would often be some courses that had a lot of difficult, complex concepts in it.
I regularly had to refer to them in assignments or papers, but some would be hard to re-phrase.
The reason why I found it difficult was because I didn’t fully understand the concept.
If I had known about the Feynman Technique back then, I could’ve spent time prior to doing assignments to break down these concepts.
I could’ve simplified a complex sociological concept, for instance, into basic, everyday terms.
And this would’ve not only helped me with my papers but also during exams because I would’ve had a better understanding of them.
How the Feynman Technique Works
The Feynman Technique works by getting learners to confront their lack of understanding.
It’ll make you inspect your notes and clarify every single sentence.
By doing this, you’ll have to fully understand the concept because it’s very difficult to explain something you don’t know with simple language.
Conclusion
The Feynman Technique is a powerful learning method.
You can use it to learn new topics or challenging concepts from your schoolwork.
Thus, start applying it to your study sessions.