Feynman Technique: How to master the learning process

Use this to gain an in-depth understanding of any subject

🏷️ Categories: Mental models, Learning

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Richard Feynman was one of the most brilliant physicists of the 20th century.

As a physics student at MIT, he was already astonishing his peers by simply solving problems that even doctoral students could not solve. He was so eminent that he won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965. In addition to his academic achievements, he was an excellent communicator. Through his explanations he was able to make an entire auditorium understand complicated physics concepts without difficulty even if none of the audience knew anything about the subject (Feynman, 2014).

How was it possible for him to make something so difficult so simple?

Feynman believed that to understand a subject in depth it was not necessary to resort to technicalities and formulas, it was enough to understand the essence of the concepts and to be able to express them in simple words. Complexity and jargon often hide the lack of understanding (Feynman, 2014).

Feynman's technique for mastering learning consists of 4 steps:

1. Choose a topic.

2. Show it to a child

3. Extract the essence

4. Express what you have learned

Let's go deeper into it.

Step 1: Choose the topic you want to learn about

Any topic is valid, from quantum physics to cooking recipes.

Take a blank sheet of paper and make an outline of everything you already know about the topic. That's your starting point and will give you a clear picture of what you already know and what you need to dig deeper into. As you learn, add new ideas to your outline using different colors, so you will see how your knowledge grows over time, literally watching it expand.

Once you feel you know enough, test yourself by teaching it.

Step 2: Explain it to a child

Can you explain your scheme to an 11-year-old?

Someone that age doesn't know jargon; the simplicity of your explanation will reveal how well you know what you're talking about. If you explain the theory of relativity, don't say, “Relativity determines that time and space are interdependent variables,” say, “Time passes faster or faster depending on how fast you move.”

That is the essence of the concept.

If you can't express yourself that way, you still need to understand the fundamentals better.

Step 3: Extract the essence

Now write a simplified explanation, keep the essence.

The process of writing forces you to reorder your ideas and express them clearly. A clear explanation is a symptom of good understanding. When you have everything written down, read it again as if you were explaining it to a child.

If something doesn't convince you, you can still refine your explanation.

Repeat this process until you have an outline that makes you understand the same thing as the initial outline but in a condensed form. “A well-done outline fits on a napkin”, that's what I always told my friends in college, and they would laugh their heads off when they saw my essential outline of the syllabus. I would start studying with a 3-sheet summary, then I could express it in 2 sheets, then in 1 sheet, and the day before the exam I had a half-sheet outline.

The same thing that was on 3 sheets now fit on half a sheet.

The less detail there was on the sheet, the better, what was not written I had already internalized and was getting closer to a good understanding of the subject. I only needed to see a simple outline to remember the whole subject in detail.

From the simple to the complex.

To the wise, few words are enough.

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Step 4: Share what you have learned

Test your knowledge in the real world and present your explanation to others. Share what you have learned. This is the phase I call “expression” in my Zettelkasten.

• Was your explanation effective?

• What questions did they ask you?

• Where did they get confused?

When you feel good about your level of understanding, save that outline in a folder and repeat the process every time you want to learn something new. If you follow this technique for everything you learn, you will eventually have a full folder.

Use the spaced repetition technique and review your outlines several times a year.

You will notice a dramatic difference in your comprehension and memory.

Challenge people who use obscure language to explain their concepts in simple terms. Their reactions may reveal a deep understanding (or lack thereof). As the classical Greeks would say, there you will see the difference between the sophist and the philosopher.

Each letter I write to you is only a timid invitation to be part of my journey through knowledge.

What is this letter if not Feynman's technique?

Feynman the year he won the Nobel Prize in physics, 1965

✍️ It's your turn: How well do you really understand the topics you study? Over time, I realized that there were two ways to pass an exam: truly understanding or simply memorizing. The former transforms you; the latter just wastes your time.

💭 Quote of the day: “No one ever knows what life is about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Almost everything is really interesting if you go deep enough into it.” Richard Feynman.

See you soon, take care of yourself 👋

References 📚

1. Feynman, R. P. (2014). Surely you’re joking Mr Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character. Random House.