Feynman Technique

The Feynman Technique tries to help the learner to understand the concept, rather than simply memorizing it. Understanding is achieved once you are able to explain something in a simple, accessible way.

It does this through the following four steps:

1. Pretend to teach a concept you want to learn about to a student in the sixth grade.
   • It has to be simple and clear, so that there is nowhere to hide in obfuscation.
   • If you can't clearly and simply define the words and terms you are using, you don't really know what you're talking about.
2. Identify gaps in your explanation. Go back to the source material to better understand it.
   • Did you forget something important? Aren't able to explain the whys? Have trouble thinking of how variables interact?
   • Augment it with other sources. Look up definitions. Just keep going until you can explain everything you need to in basic terms.
3. Organize and simplify.
   • Organize all the gathered information into a narrative that you can tell from beginning to end.
   • Read it out loud. If the explanation sounds confusing at any point, go back to Step 2.
4. Transmit (optional).
   • If you really want to be sure of your understanding, run it past someone (ideally someone who knows little of the subject).

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