I'm pretty sure you might have heard about this technique a lot. This technique was invented by Richard Feynman, who was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. He used to make complicated things simple, simple enough to understand for a normal human being. He realized that jargon, vague words, and complexity reveal a lack of understanding.
There are four key steps to 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
Now, this is what Feynman said, I'm going to tell you how I do this and how I learn new stuff.
- Choose a concept you want to learn about
Okay, the first thing is to take a paper or a diary and write the topic you want to learn.
Google the topic.
Write down what you understand on the paper.
Next, find out books on the topic, read through them, and write them down again.
Find other sources and write down those points as well.
Probably use coloured pens or pages to differentiate the sources.
2. Explain it to a 12-year-old
Or like how I call it, explain it to your mom.
You need to make your explanation so simple that someone from an older generation should be able to grasp it.
Use simple words and language to explain what you have learned.
Simple is beautiful.
3. Read what you have written aloud
Once you are done writing and explaining. Read whatever you have written aloud and see if it makes sense to you.
Are you missing out on anything or does everything fit?
Did you use any jargons that you could have avoided?
Refine as much as possible.
4. Review and Preview
If you are satisfied with what you have done, review all the material once and give it to someone to read.
If they understand and learn from what you have written, then you have succeeded. If not, ask what part they didn't understand and refine those areas.
Simple but super effective. This technique is known to help a lot of people in learning difficult subjects. I used it to clear my exams in engineering!
Understanding this technique can help you avoid getting fooled by others.
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Next time you find someone using a lot of jargon, ask them to explain it to you like you are 5 😉
