Feynman’s Technique

Summary: This post explains Feynman's technique is for understanding a topic.

ADVICE TO LAW ASPIRANTS

Introduction & Most Important Skill।। Improve Your Language।। Being Short and Concise: Crux of Good Communication।। Clear Grasp of the Subject: Necessary for Communication।। Feynman’s Technique।। ।। ।। ।। ।। ।। 

इस चिट्ठी को हिन्दी में यहां पढ़ा जा सकता है।

Richard Feynman is the most talked about scientist after Albert Einstein from the last century. He won the Physics Nobel prize in 1965 and was involved in the Manhattan project, started to make atom bomb in 1940s before Nazi could build it. From there, he went to Cornell, and later, joined California Institute of Technology (Caltech), till his death.

He was a great communicator and a teacher as well. In the middle of the last century, a dispute arose on how physics should be taught and who could best resolve it other than Feynman. He taught a course for undergraduate Physics in Caltech from 1961-63. His lectures are a classic and were published in three volumes titled ‘Lectures on Physics by Feynman’ - the three red books. 

In the aforesaid lectures, some lectures were not published, and they were later published in a book titled ‘Feynman’s Lost Lecture’ by David L Goodstein and Judith R Goodstein. The second chapter of the book is titled ‘Feynman: A Reminiscence’. It narrates the following incident: 

“Feynman was truly a great teacher. He prided himself as able to device the ways to explain even the most profound ideas to beginning students. I once asked him “Dick [pet name of Feynman], explain to me so that I can understand it why spin one-half particles obey Fermi-Dirac statistics.’ 

Sizing up his audience perfectly, Feynman said, ‘I will prepare a freshman lecture on it.’ But he came back a few days later to say, 'I couldn’t do it to the freshman level. That means that we don’t really understand it.'” 

This was later refined to Feynman’ technique, consisting of four steps:

1. Choose a topic that you want to understand and read material on that topic;
2. Pen down your understanding in simple language. Speak loudly, as if explaining to a child or a person, new in the subject;
3. If you get stuck at some place or there are gaps in your explanation, and you have to refer to your notes then it means that you have not understood it. Go back and read the material again and repeat the process;
4. Refine it till you can explain it in simple words. 

Once you do that, you have understood the topic and are ready communicate. 

Conclusion: If you can explain a topic to a layperson then you understand the topic clearly.

A Video about Feynman's technique

In the next post, we will talk about what else may be done to improve language and understand a topic well.

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