Richard Feynman was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics back in 1965 for his work on Quantum Electrodynamics. His contributions to quantum physics are outstanding. Richard Feynman also served as a professor and his Feynman Technique is famous for all those who wish to study for a competition, a college entrance exam, or any other thing.
Feynman said, ‘You may know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but in the end, you will know absolutely nothing about whatever the bird is. So, let’s look at the bird and see what it does – that’s what counts. I learned early enough the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.’
The Feynman Technique is comprised of the following four steps;
Step 1 Of Feynman Technique – Choosing a Subject
First off, choose a subject of your preference and then give it due time on a daily basis. Start by writing everything down that you know about that subject and then add the curiosities that you discover and add them to the list.
Step 2 Of Feynman Technique – Write As If You Are Discussing With A Child
For this step, you will have to get in touch with your inner child. You should explain everything in the simplest way that is possible. To put it simply; write as if you are talking to a child. It does sound silly, we know, but it is a very significant step for the Feynman Technique. You should avoid using any terms that make it seem like you already know something about it. You should be thorough and must write everything down that you know about the concept that was chosen.
Step 3 – Hit The Library And Read Books
For the next step, you need to read books about the topic and write down any information that you collect. During step two, when you wrote the information down; it is highly likely that some gaps exist. You need to go back to the books and look for the missing information. Keep at it until you are able to explain the subject in a way that a child would be able to comprehend it.
Step 4 – Simplifying It Even More!
For this last step of the Feynman Technique, you will have to simplify the text even more and rely on approximate topics for attaining a better clarity of the subject. It is important to read aloud and listen to what was written so that you are able to simplify it even more. If you feel like that the concept needs to be more simplified; do it.
If during reading aloud, you realize that explanation at some point is not easy to understand, then you should collect more information to explain it better.