The Feynman technique is a simple yet powerful method to help you understand new concepts in depth. The mental frame you are in is that you are trying to explain the concept of interest to an audience outside the field, or even that you have to explain it to a child (ELI5 -- "explain like I am 5"). The focus of your explanation is therefore on simplicity and conciseness rather than on convoluted explanations and field-specific terms.
If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough. ~ Albert Einstein
You can use the Feynman technique on your own, or you can actually have an audience to explain it to. This framework is mentally demanding to use because it forces you to actively think about the problem. So if you do not have an audience, i.e. you are your own audience, you have to be strict with yourself and honestly assess whether you have fully understood it or not and whether your explanations are clear enough.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard P. Feynman
How does it work?
The steps of the Feynman technique are simple and straightforward:
- Clearly state and write down the concept you want to learn.
- Explain the concept in as simple a language as possible (ELI5).
- Identify, review and refine areas where you had problems.
- Review your explanation and try to simplify complicated terms further until there is nothing left to improve.
A good way to do step 4 is to actually present it to someone, preferably a non-specialist, and test whether that person actually understands everything. If they don't, then you need to improve your explanation and simplify further.
I hope this explanation of the Feynman technique has been simple and concise. If not, let me know where I can improve. This is an active part of step 4 ;)
I am looking forward to your comments.
PV ๐ค
v1 @ 785'699: removed an unnecessary term
v0 @ 784'995