How to Use the ‘Feynman Method’ to Study for a Test
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Study methods generally concern what you can do in your own time to maximize what you learn and it is generally the most important, but bringing someone else to your process can also be useful if it is done correctly. This is what Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist, thought – at least in theory. According to many sources possibly apocryphal, the Nobel Prize winner said one day: “If you cannot explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it. The best way to learn is to teach.”
It is quite possible that Feynman has never said that. The Closest Documeted quote I Could Find, courtesy of His Colleague and Fellow Physicist David Goodstein, stated that feynman’s inability to break a subject (in this case, a complex question of Particle physics) Down to the level a freshman Student Could Understand science did not understand it effectively.
But whether this study method really came from Feynman or not, the basic principle – to know that you really understand a subject, you should be able to teach it to someone else – is quite solid. Here’s how the Feynman study method works and how you can use it to master new concepts (maybe not particles physics, apparently).
What is the Feynman method?
Feynman’s study technique is so popular for learning and keeping information that it is recommended for students and even professionals in the real world. It is a four -step technique that should, when practiced properly, help you fully grasp the content you are studying. Here are the steps involved:
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Identify exactly the material you need to learn (to do this, try to use a method like KWL or SQ3R to determine the parts of the most critical subject before you even start), then study it by yourself using the most effective methods for you. I recommend the leitner flashcard method for vocabulary words and simple questions and answers. Then try to blur it, where you write everything you remember on the subject before checking it against your equipment to see what you missed.
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Once you feel comfortable with the equipment, teach it to someone else – ideally someone who has never studied it. Explain the material as if you were doing it to a total neophyte (Feynman advises to imagine talking to a child), as well and as simple as possible.
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Return to your source material each time you meet an element that you have trouble explaining in detail.
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Rewrite and rationalize your notes, breaking down complex subjects into simpler parts and clarifying the subject more until you reach a level of granularity that seems almost Also basic.
Step 2, however, is not as simple as it seems. You need a participant voluntary enough for this and they should ask questions while you teach them. The questions are crucial because the other person can find those you did not think when studying the material and a back and forth dialogue can help you establish links between concepts in your brain. Do not treat this as if you were stating in front of them by giving a conference. Rather transform it into a real conversation where you present the equipment, but they also participate. If they ask for something you can’t answer, go to step 3, look at it, then come back to them with the details.
How does the Feynman method work
The most important element of this technique is to dissect and simplify the equipment until you feel like you can explain everything to a child. As the story of Goodstein above reveals, Feynman believed that if you could not reduce a subject to information understandable to a young student, You doesn’t really have to understand. (A similar quote was also attributed to Albert Einstein, so consider it as an educational philosophy with the legs – although there is no evidence that Einstein really said anything either.)
What do you think so far?
It works well if you choose an adult who does not know the subject to teach him. The idea is just for you to simplify it in terms of understanding a child, but you will probably get more substantial comments if you really make the discussion with an adult. Maybe they will ask a question to which you cannot answer or will help you find links between ideas. Perhaps their unique perspectives and experiences will shed their understanding of this new material and will launch revolutionary revelations for you. Who can say? These comments will help you go to the third step to examine your documents, because it will give you additional things to consider as you do.
When you have finished refining your notes, try to start the subject again to someone else, or switch to another technique, such as distributed practice or upgrade, where you will study your simplified periodically notes until you fully grasp the equipment.
Feynman when no one else is there
It’s a good idea to imagine that you could call your mom or best friend to Feynman whenever you have a big test to come, but in reality, this is probably not possible. If you can’t find anyone to practice this technique, turn to AI. Language models like chatgpt are excellent study aids when used correctly.
Ask the Chatbot to act as if it was completely uncommon with the subject, then type everything you remember in the text entrance box, as if you used the blurred method. Ask if AI has questions and go from there. I did this and I just told the bot that I used the Feynman method, which he understood, and it worked as well as to speak to a human being, even if it seemed a little stranger. Light chatgpt before a large test in an emergency.
