The Feynman Technique!
Richard Feynman, the American Scientist famous for his Noble Prize award on quantum electrodynamics once famously said ‘I couldn’t reduce it to the freshman level. That means we really don’t understand it’
This means if we cannot simplify any idea enough, for a child to be able to understand the concept, then maybe our own concept of the idea is not clear. This is what brings us to the "Feynman Technique"!
Revising what I mentioned earlier, in my tribute post to Steven Bartlett yesterday:
“If you want to master something, do it publicly and do it consistently”..."In any area of your life, doing it in public, and creating an obligation that forces you to do it consistently, will lead you to mastery.
In the words of Steven, “Being able to simplify an idea and successfully share it with others is both the path to understanding it and the proof that you do.”
Inspired by Richard Feynman, who had a gift for explaining the most complex, baffling ideas in simple language, the Feynman technique is a powerful mental model for self-development. It forces you to strip away unnecessary complexity and develop a rich, in-depth understanding of whatever discipline you seek to master. Here the steps for applying the Feynman technique which has been further simplified by Steven:
Step 1: Learn
First you must understand the topic you want to understand, research it thoroughly and grasp it from every direction.
Step 2: Teach it to a child
You should write the idea down as if you were teaching it to a child, use simple words, fewer words and simple concepts.
Step 3: Share it
Secondly, convey your idea to others; post it online, post it on your blog, share it on stage or even at the dinner table. Choose any medium where you’ll get clear feedback.
Step 4: Review
Review the feedback; did people understand the concept from your explanation? Can they explain it to you after you’ve explained it to them? If not, go back to Step 1; if they did, move on.
“You don’t become a master because you are able to retain knowledge. You become a master, when you’re able to release it.” - Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO