The Feynman Technique

What is The Feynman Technique?

Named after Nobel physicist Richard Feynman, this learning method forces genuine understanding by making you explain concepts in simple language. If you can't explain it to a 12-year-old, you don't really understand it. Exposes gaps in understanding that passive reading hides.

Is there evidence for it?

How do you do The Feynman Technique?

1. 1.Choose a concept you want to understand deeply and write the name at the top of a blank page
2. 2.Explain the concept in your own words as if teaching it to someone with no background knowledge — use simple language, no jargon
3. 3.Identify where you get stuck, use vague language, or resort to jargon — these are your knowledge gaps
4. 4.Go back to the source material and study only the gap areas, then re-explain from scratch
5. 5.Simplify your explanation further using analogies and examples until a non-expert could understand it

How long does it take?

20-30 minutes per concept.

Is it hard to start?

easy.

This is one entry from the library Shift matches against. It is general information, not advice about you, and nothing on this page came from anyone's conversation.