Have you ever sat down to take an exam thinking
you’ve studied hard and put in the work but then, when you read the questions and
start the test, you realise you didn’t know as much as you thought? Maybe you’ve been to a job interview where
you’ve prepared for the questions you might expect, but once the interview begins you
find yourself unable to answer the interviewer’s questions properly? Both of these scenarios have happened to me
in the past but I can now avoid these situations occurring in the future with the help of the
wisdom of physicist Richard Feynman. Previously, my preparation consisted of cramming
in as much information as possible in the days and hours before the test or interview. I had memorised dates, statistics and other
facts but this is shallow knowledge that’s only surface-deep. Deep knowledge can only be mastered by having
a thorough understanding of the subject you’re studying. There is a huge difference between shallow
and deep knowledge and it is something Richard Feynman was acutely aware of. Back when he was a child, he discovered the
difference between knowing the name of something compared to really knowing something. When being interviewed later in his life,
Feynman recalled a story from when he was playing in a field as a child. Another boy asked him, “do you know the
name of that bird?”. Feynman said he didn’t have the slightest
idea. The boy told him “It’s a brown-throated
thrush. Your father doesn’t teach you anything”. However, Feynman’s father had already taught
his son the names of birds, in fact he taught him the name of the brown-throated thrush
in multiple languages. But Feynman’s father explained that even
if you know the name of the bird in every language, you still know absolutely nothing
about the bird. Richard Feynman had been taught a valuable
lesson by his father. Names do not constitute knowledge. So how do you acquire deep knowledge? That’s where the Feynman technique comes
in. The Feynman technique is a mental model that
involves a simple but powerful 4-step process. Before his groundbreaking research, pioneering
work and eventual Nobel prize, Feynman used this technique as a method of study at Princeton
University. The very first step is to simply write down
the name of the subject you want to study at the top of a piece of paper. Step two is to write down your explanation
of the subject but to do it in a way as if you were teaching the concept to a child who
is unfamiliar with it. This forces you to use simple language without
any jargon, to make sure that it makes sense at their level of understanding. Also, bear in mind that children have a shorter
attention span than adults, so the aim should be to explain the concept as briefly as possible,
too. If you struggle at any point in jotting down
your explanation, it shows you have room to improve. Step three is to identify the gaps you have
in the topic. After explaining the subject on paper, you
should be able to realise specific parts that you don’t fully understand yourself. You may be able to spot these areas by noticing
when you start to ramble at certain points in the explanation, or not being able to use
simple language to explain specific concepts, because you don’t have the knowledge or
understanding to do so. Strengthen your weak areas. Go back to your sources of information and
dive into these specific parts of the subject. Attempt to increase your knowledge in these
particular areas. The final step - step four - is to repeat
steps 1-3 until you have mastered the subject. Make sure you’ve simplified complicated
parts as much as possible. You can further cement your knowledge by formalising
your notes into a script and reading them out loud as if you were presenting to an audience. Why does this technique work so well? One reason is because teaching is a mutually
beneficial process. You are not only educating those you are teaching. By explaining what you’ve learnt, you are
partaking in one of the highest forms of learning yourself. You can use the Feynman technique on whatever
you’re currently learning. It’s an easy way to discover if you just
know a definition or fully understand an idea. It allows you to quickly identify your weak
areas and by focusing only on those specific points, it makes the whole process extremely
efficient. If you can successfully use analogies and
simple language that a 5 year old can understand to explain a subject, it is a good indicator
that you have a deep understanding of the topic. This video is sponsored by Skillshare. If you’re interested in finding out about
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