Updated June 6, 2022.
Richard Feynman (1918-1988), was an American theoretical physicist. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965. Feynman is considered one of the most important physicists of the 20th century.
Among his many accomplishments, he became know for “The Feynman Technique”:
- Choose a concept you want to learn about
- Explain it to a 12 year old
- Reflect, Refine, and Simplify
- Organize and Review
The Feynman Technique: The Best Way to Learn Anything explains it in more detail.
Note that there are many variations on how it is described. For me, the most important concept is being able to explain a complex idea accurately using simple language. Feynman believed that if you couldn’t do that, you didn’t understand it sufficiently.
But be careful:
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
H. L. Mencken
