How the Feynman technique allows me to learn 4x faster
In 3rd Grade, I had to take the CogAT Exam. It was a special exam for Academically Gifted (AG) students, to rank their proficiency and ability in 4 subjects: math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.
If you scored in the 97th percentile across all exams, you were categorized in the special section of AG marked as Very Strong (VS). You would then be eligible to receive an offer letter from two selective schools in my city.
When I transferred in 4th Grade to one of these two schools, it was a time when I was surrounded by the best and the brightest kids in the city, even ranking as some of the highest within the state.
Naturally, the learning process was different than what I was used to, and I’ll never forget how my science teacher told us about a way of delivering information like we were talking to a 5-year-old.
“If you can’t explain to a five-year-old, you don’t understand what you are talking about” She would say.
That’s the power of the Feynman technique, it’s the first time I was introduced to it, and it’s stuck with me ever since.
So what is the Feynman technique? It’s four key steps that I’ll break down.
First, select a concept that you want to learn.
Then, teach it as if you were talking to a child
Review what you’ve taught, and refine gaps in understanding and anything you may have missed.
Lastly, organize your notes and reflections on the concept, and come back to them occasionally.
Here are 4 ways the Feynman technique will help you learn 4x faster.
1. It helps you simplify concepts to the base level
To be able to explain something at a simple level, you have to be able to understand something, and the simplicity part is key. As you start to learn and absorb concepts at the base level, you’ll become a more effective learner by being able to simplify the things you learn everywhere around you.
2. Teaching others is one of the most effective forms of memory retention
There’s a lot that goes on in the world, and it’s easy to forget lots of things, but when it comes to memory retention, this is one of the best techniques. After all, our brain is wired to remember more of the things we teach, because we often care more about them, and as a survival mechanism, if it’s important to us, we place more emphasis on remembering them.
3. It’s a straightforward process
It’s not a complicated formula or a ten-step process of learning, it’s a simple framework. Identify, simplify, review, and that helps you reduce the time it takes to learn something, and it’s a super effective framework that works no matter the concept that you are learning.
4. It makes you think outside the box
When you think about a concept from the perspective of a kid, you are forced to approach it from a new angle, and this can help you understand the concept from a different frame of mind, allowing you to perhaps see what you might have missed.
