How To Understand A Concept Quickly By FEYNMAN TECHNIQUE

When you are in college or at some point in lifetime you came across a situation where you have to explain something but you failed to explain it in a simple term. At this point Feynman Technique helps to understand and explain things better. Lets see in detail...

There are two types of knowledge . First is knowing something, second is understand something. The Feynman Technique works mainly on the second type of knowledge that is understanding something deeply. Richard Feynman is an author, graphic novel hero, intellectual, philosopher and physicist. A Feynman Technique is a mental model named after Richard Feynman, which helps you learn pretty much, understanding concept you don't really get, helps to remember stuff you already learnt or to study more effectively or to convey information using concise thought and simple language

Feynman Technique is nothing but a method for learning or reviewing a concept quickly and explaining it in plain, simple language. Or it can be used as Self learning technique for every single individual. We can use this mental model to learn new concept, filling up the knowledge gaps, recalling the ideas that we don't want to forget, or to study more effectively which can be used for any field or expertise of study

The process helps you solve common problems faced during learning.

-Not able to understand concept well enough.

-Forgetting what you learned.

-Failing to learn effectively.

"If I cannot explain in a simple way, the problem lies in my understanding of topic, not my teaching abilities." -Richard Feynman

In his college Richard Feynman develop a habit to connect things he know with the things he didn't know. He started writing down every topic is notebook that was important to him to know which he had no knowledge about. He convert all the complex term into simpler form, revise all the concept he forgot about and put all the things together in the notebook. After writing the things he he don't know, he started gaining information about the topics and start teaching them to others

"The person who says what he thinks but cannot express it, usually does not know what he thinks." -Richard Feynman

There are 4 steps in Feynman technique

First is Choose a concept that you want to learn-

Choose a concept that you want to learn. But while choosing a concept be specific about your topic which you want to learn. The more specific you are, the more cleaner and efficient the rest of the learning process can be. After choosing a specific topic, write down everything you know about what you choose on a piece of paper Each time you run into new source of information, add them to note.

Second is Teach it to other who knows nothing about the thing that you want to explain

Teach your concept to child, or to a new individual for which your topic is new. Teach in your style which suits you best. Try to teach your concept to your friend, or anyone else who is patience to listen what you want to teach. But the trick is to teach it plain and simply, so that the other individual can understand what you are talking about. Use examples frequently. As simply defining a concept is only half battle. If you want to explain it clearly , you have to apply it by working through examples. Use simple words, real life examples, easy to understand pictures or relatable analogies. When you are trying to explain start from a broad concept and then get more specific about your teaching concept. Feynman said try to explain it to a child, who has vocabulary enough to understand simple terms. As children have very little attention span, you have to explain it before their mind wander. So be specific on your lecture while teaching. If you have any difficulty in the above mention point their is absolute point for you to improve. Children or the new individual don't understand the dense vocabulary of your topic so make it simple. Science is full of complex terminology. When we speak without complex terminologies, it frees us from hiding behind knowledge we don't have in simple. When you speak in simple terms you force yourself to understand the concept at deeper level and simplify relationship and connection between ideas. Some points are easy to explain but at some point you will struggle. These are the points where you have some gaps in your understanding

Third is Identify your knowledge gaps that you find while teaching

This is the point where the real learning happens. Highlighting knowledge gaps which you find in 3rd point will help you when you collect and organize your lecture in cohesive story. If that child or the new individual ask you some term in simpler manner, and you are not able to explain it then go and hit the books. Go back to source material and compile information that will help you fill in the gaps, relearn it until you can explain it in basic term. If you skip this simple and basic learning it leads to illusion of knowledge. Means it will show you that you have understand the knowledge but the reality is different. Identifying the boundaries of your understanding also limits the mistake you are liable to make and increases the chances of success when applying knowledge. You might still need a second or third revision, but at least the time of returning to source will increase

Fourth is Organize + simplify+ Tell a story

After identifying knowledge gaps, you have your own set of hand crafted notes. Organize them into simple narrative form. Piece together your lecture note and begin to spin a tell using concise explanation. Bring the most vital pieces of our knowledge about topic together. Use simple sentences to strengthen your understanding of story. If the explanation is not simple or sounds confusing that's a good indication that you understanding in that area still needs some work. Creating visuals, concept maps and any of the various types of analogies is a useful way to clarify you own thinking. As your understanding changes you explain it in more simpler form. This will both deepen your understanding of the topic as well as illuminate the learning process itself. In order to understand something, you should be able to explain it briefly and accurately but in order to do that, you need to understand

Feynman Technique is a window of different way of thinking that allows you to tear ideas apart and reconstruct them from the ground up. By this technique you will supercharge your own learning but you will also supercharge the other individual. When you explain a concept in simple term, you will quickly see whether you have good understanding of the subject or not. You also instantly pinpoint your problem areas, because they will be the areas where you either get stuck or where you end up restoring to using complex language and terminology. If you understand a subject well, you have good handle of topic. If you cannot, grab your book again. It helps you to understand the reason behind the facts you know. Our brain does not think linearly. Every action and thought involves multiple neurons firing into action to make it possible. Teaching, reviewing and explaining in simple terms brings a larger part of your brain into act of learning. The more creative you are with your learning, the better you will understand and recall.

Feynman Technique has some limitations as this technique does not provide any special tactics to learn information when you are reading it for first time

Next time you stare at an empty notebook page, think about turning that page into an opportunity.....

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