Richard Feynman was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for his ability to explain complex ideas simply. His secret? A learning technique that forces deep understanding by requiring you to teach.
The Feynman Technique isn't just for physics. It works for any subject—and it exposes the gaps in your knowledge that passive studying misses.
The Four Steps
Step 1: Choose a Concept
Pick something you want to understand. It could be broad ("machine learning") or narrow ("how gradient descent works"). Write the topic at the top of a blank page.
Step 2: Teach It to a Child
Write an explanation of the concept as if you were teaching it to a 12-year-old. Use simple language. No jargon. No technical terms unless you explain them.
This constraint is crucial. Jargon often masks incomplete understanding. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Step 3: Identify Gaps and Go Back to the Source
As you write, you'll hit points where:
- You can't explain something clearly
- You realize you don't fully understand a connection
- You use jargon because you don't know a simpler way
These are your knowledge gaps. Go back to your source material and study specifically those areas. Then return to your explanation.
Step 4: Simplify and Use Analogies
Review your explanation. Make it simpler. Use analogies and examples that connect to everyday experience.
Analogies are powerful because they link new information to existing knowledge. "A CPU is like a chef following recipes" is more memorable than a technical definition.
Why It Works
Active Processing
Writing an explanation forces you to actively process information. You can't passively copy ideas—you have to transform them into your own words.
Gap Detection
When you try to explain something and can't, you've found a gap. Most studying methods let you skip over gaps with the illusion of understanding. Feynman's method makes gaps obvious and immediate.
Deeper Encoding
Creating analogies and simple explanations requires understanding the underlying structure of an idea, not just its surface features. This structural understanding is more flexible and longer-lasting.
The Generation Effect
Research shows that information you generate yourself (your explanation) is remembered better than information you passively receive. Creating the explanation is itself a learning act.
Examples
Understanding Compound Interest
First attempt: "Compound interest is when you earn interest on your interest."
Gap identified: Why does this make such a big difference? How does the math work?
After study: "Imagine you plant a tree that drops 10 seeds each year. Each of those seeds grows into a tree that also drops 10 seeds. Year 1: 1 tree. Year 2: 10 trees. Year 3: 100 trees. Year 4: 1,000 trees. That's compound interest—your money makes money, and then THAT money makes more money. Small differences in interest rate or time create huge differences in results because of this multiplication effect."
Understanding Natural Selection
First attempt: "Survival of the fittest—the strongest animals survive."
Gap identified: "Fittest" doesn't mean strongest. What does it actually mean? How does this create new species?
After study: "In every generation, animals have slight differences—some are faster, some blend in better, some resist certain diseases. The ones whose differences help them survive and reproduce have more babies. Those babies inherit the helpful traits. Over thousands of generations, the helpful traits become more common, and the population slowly changes. It's like a filter that keeps letting through slightly different versions until the end result looks nothing like the start."
Tips for Using the Feynman Technique
Actually Write It Down
Don't just think through the explanation—write it. Writing forces precision that mental rehearsal doesn't.
Use Real Analogies
Your analogies should connect to tangible experiences. "Like a computer" isn't helpful to someone who doesn't understand computers. "Like a recipe" or "like a bucket with holes" connect to universal experiences.
Expect Multiple Iterations
Your first explanation will be rough. That's the point. Each revision—studying gaps, simplifying, finding better analogies—deepens your understanding.
Test Your Explanation
Try explaining to an actual person. Their questions reveal additional gaps and unclear points that you missed.
Keep Your Explanations
Build a personal library of Feynman-style explanations. They're useful for future review and for helping others learn.
When to Use It
The Feynman Technique is especially valuable for:
- Complex conceptual material - Theories, frameworks, principles
- Subjects you'll need to explain to others - Teaching, presentations, leadership
- Fundamental concepts in a new field - Building a solid foundation before advancing
- Topics that feel confusing despite study - Breaking through "I read it but don't get it"
It's less useful for:
- Pure memorization (dates, vocabulary)
- Procedural skills (you need practice, not just understanding)
- Material you'll never need deeply
Combining with Other Techniques
Feynman + Spaced Repetition
Create flashcards with your simplified explanations. Review them over time to maintain understanding.
Feynman + Active Recall
After creating an explanation, wait a day. Then try to reconstruct the explanation from memory. Check against your original.
Feynman + Mind Mapping
Create a visual map of the concept with your simplified explanations at each node. Useful for topics with many interconnected parts.
Start Now
Pick something you're trying to learn right now. Take out a piece of paper. Write an explanation as if teaching a smart 12-year-old.
Where do you get stuck? Those are the gaps. Fill them in.
The deepest understanding comes not from consuming more information, but from trying to express what you've learned simply. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it yet.
Teach to learn. Simplify to understand. That's the Feynman way.
Related Articles:
- Active Recall: The Study Technique That Actually Works
- How to Take Notes That You'll Actually Remember
- Learning How to Learn: A Meta-Guide
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