The Feynman Technique: How You Can Learn Anything?

Feynman is known as "The Great Explainer." and unlike most scientists, he did not prefer to communicate on paper. Rather, the bulk of his published work was based on verbal dialogue. In addition to communicating, Feynman illustrated highly scientific concepts with cartoonish diagrams. He had no trouble deciphering complicated concepts from drawings, lines, and shapes. By using this technique, he was able to eliminate the ambiguous language and emphasize the storytelling's power.

Static memorization was rejected by Feynman. He thought that "trial and error, discovery, and free inquiry" should be active processes in the learning process. According to him, the reason you couldn't explain something in plain English was that you didn't understand it well enough. One of the main factors in his success was his understanding of the distinction between knowing something and just knowing its name.

Most of us focus on the wrong type of knowledge. We focus on knowing the name of something - what it’s called. The right type of knowledge focuses on actually knowing something—that is understanding something. - Richard Feynman

Feynman Technique

Frequently, we wait until it's too late to realize we don't understand something. Our minds only become blank when asked to explain something. We realize that we know far less than we thought at first when we are asked to demonstrate our knowledge outside of our own heads. In addition to his natural intelligence, Richard Feynman's ability to systematically recognize what he did not know and then devote his entire being to learning it was what made him The Great Explainer. Feynman offered insights into his method of thinking through difficult ideas in the field of physics and other subjects and sharing information with grace and simplicity throughout his career and life.

You can use this learning concept to understand almost anything. This method prevents us from fooling ourselves into believing we are experts in a field in which we are actually amateurs. Every stage of the process forces us to face our lack of knowledge, interact with the subject matter directly, clarify our understanding and ultimately expand our circle of competence.

1. Choose a Concept to Learn 

Choosing a topic to explore forces you to be conscious of your ignorance. It's similar to writing down "Things I Don't Know About" in a notebook, as Feynman did. It's best to write down everything you wish to learn or what you don't know.

Make it as short as possible so that it fits on a single page when you explain it to yourself. It is not realistic to try to learn everything there is to know about "Geology" or "Machine Learning." Rather, concentrate on a narrower, more specific idea.

2. Teach It to Yourself or Someone Else

Write down all of your knowledge on a subject as if you were explaining it to yourself. Better yet, give it to someone else to learn.

Learning something does not equate to reading about it in a book or article. While taking notes can be beneficial, learning still cannot be achieved solely through note-taking. Teaching is necessary for true comprehension. Without looking at your notes, write a summary of what you've learned in your own words. Next, explain it to others. You'll identify gaps in your learning when they criticize your instruction or challenge the reasoning behind it. The best way to learn is to teach, a fact that most people don't understand. 

You can identify exceptions and gaps and explain something both forward and backward if you truly understand it. It demonstrates your strong foundation in knowledge. Additionally, it boosts your self-esteem and motivates you to take on even more difficult subjects down the road. 

3. Return to the Source 

You're bound to run into trouble. It's highly unlikely that explaining a recently acquired idea to someone else - especially a child, will go easily. You'll encounter hiccups and will find that you have a few things you aren't sure about. This is an excellent opportunity to review your notes and fill in any knowledge gaps. More reading and research may be necessary as well, especially if the child asks clever questions that you were completely unaware of. That's why kids are so awesome.

Returning to the source material is an explicit part of the learning process in the Feynman Technique because learning something new requires multiple tries. By taking this step, you can view learning as an ongoing process rather than something that happens once. Additionally, your ability to understand a subject at a deeper level grows as you gain more knowledge. For example, you might have no idea where to start when you are interested in studying psychology and you may find it extremely difficult to understand many concepts because they are so foreign and counterintuitive. But after reading a few books and explaining them to your family members or friends, now you should have the confidence to reasonably guess what something is, even if it's a new term. The Feynman Technique's power lies in its ability to increase learning capacity.

4. Simplify Further 

Simplify your notes and explanation, elaborating on the subject until it becomes clear. Furthermore, consider simple comparisons to ensure that your explanations are crystal clear. When explaining complex subjects, it's usually a good idea to build analogies around the concept. "The mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell" is most likely established in all of our collective memories. Not only is it an excellent way to teach, but it's also a great way to learn we should always make our own comparisons. 

Recalling terms from memory and then speaking them out loud when asked is not too difficult. Memorization, however, is not understanding. To know jargon is to not understand concepts. Jargon is used to cover up ignorance and incapacity. We must be able to reduce what we actually know to its most fundamental form. This is the point at which real understanding occurs.

The Art of Feynman Technique

The Feynman Technique is a great way to pick up new ideas fast, bridge knowledge gaps, remember concepts and study more effectively. One of the biggest obstacles to learning is tackling difficult subjects, which is something we can do with this exact approach. Remember that Feynman used this exact method to learn and explain difficult ideas in mathematics and physics. That's good news because most of what we want to learn is probably not as complex as Feynman's. An admirable aspect of Feynman's methodology is its natural conviction that intelligence is a process of growth and it can be built in every individual.