Learning Meaningful Lessons from Richard Feynman for Your Growth.
Richard Feynman was an American theoretical physicist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his groundbreaking work in Quantum Electrodynamics.
Feynman’s true genius, however, was in his ability to convey extremely complex ideas in simple, digestible ways. Not only in terms of Science, but Feynman also was one the greatest thinkers, and how he understands and perceives the world can be lessons for us all.
Richard Feynman observed that complexity and jargon are often used to mask a lack of deep understanding.
The Feynman Technique is a learning framework that forces you to strip away needless complexity and develop a deep, elegant understanding of a given topic.
No doubt, Feynman Technique is a foundational mental model for unlocking growth in your Career, Startup, Business, or Writing.
The Feynman Technique involves “Four Key Steps”:
- Identify
- ELI5 (“Explain It To Me Like I’m 5”)
- Reflect & Study
- Organize, Convey & Review
Identify gaps in knowledge
What is the topic you want to learn more about?
Identify the topic and write down everything you know about it. No doubt, for growth you need to fill the gaps where you or your business might be leaking.
Read and research the topic and write down all of your new learnings (and the sources of each). Whether it’s Marketing, Presentation, or the product/service itself for your Business. Identify the leakage, to fix it.
This first step sets the stage for what is to come.
ELI5 (“Explain It To Me Like I’m 5”)
Anyone can make a subject complicated but only someone who understands can make it simple.
Attempt to explain the topic to a child.
Once again, write down everything you know about your topic, but this time, pretend you are explaining it to a child.
Use simple language and terms.
Our brain often hides our lack of understanding. When forced to write out an idea from start to finish in simple language, we discover where we struggle … where it doesn’t quite make sense … where we get frustrated … where we don’t really understand as well as we thought. Only by identifying gaps in our knowledge can you fill them.
Reflect & Study
Simple is beautiful.
Reflect on your performance in Step 2.
How well were you able to explain the topic to a child? Where did you get frustrated? Where did you resort to jargon or get stuck?
These are the gaps in your understanding.
Go back to the source material, reviewing the parts you don’t quite understand yet. Repeat until you have a simple explanation.
Organize, Convey & Review
Organize your elegant, simple language into a compelling story or narrative.
Convey it to others. Test-and-learn. Iterate and refine your story or narrative accordingly.
Review (and respect) your new, deeper understanding of the topic.
The Feynman Technique is an incredible framework for unlocking growth. The best entrepreneurs, writers, thinkers, and operators have leveraged this technique (directly or indirectly).
They share a common genius — the ability to convey complex ideas in simple, digestible ways.
It is easy to overcomplicate and intimidate. We all know the people — teachers, peers, bosses — who try to do this.
Do not be fooled — complexity and jargon are often used to mask a lack of deep understanding.
Remember The Feynman Technique. Find beauty in simplicity.
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