Have you ever wondered about the simplest and fastest approach to learning a new subject?

A technique that doesn’t need a ton of training or practice, you can implement quickly, and can help you to learn amazing new subjects (like quantum electrodynamics)?

Then let me introduce you to…

Dr. Richard Feynman

Richard Phillips Feynman was born in 1918 in Queens, NY. His parents weren’t particularly academic. Lucille, his mother, was a homemaker and his father Melville worked as a sales manager, but they both encouraged lifelong learning, curiosity, and prompted young Feynman to explore the world around him.

From an early age, he showed an extraordinary desire to learn. He built home laboratories, experimented with various electronics, and had a thing for repairing radios.

When he was in the sixth grade he built a burglar alarm for his bedroom from various electronic scraps from around the house while his parents were away running errands.

As a parent, I can imagine the mix of “Gosh, that’s impressive!” and “Why does my sixth-grader even need a burglar alarm on his room?”

By the time he was fifteen years old, he was teaching himself subjects such as advanced algebra, integral and differential calculus, and trigonometry. By the time he graduated high school he had won the New York University Math Championship and was well known for his achievements in mathematics.

He went on to study at MIT after many rejections connected to his Jewish heritage (at that time, particular attention was given to the number of Jewish students at higher-learning facilities) and his poor verbal and writing skills. There, he tried his hand first at a mathematics major, later switching to electrical engineering, then finally to physics.

After graduating from MIT, he went on the achieve his Ph.D. from Princeton (where he, again, was nearly rejected). During this time, his lectures attracted scientific minds such as Albert Einstein and John Von Neumann, and he became involved in the creation of the first atomic bombs and the Manhatten Project.

He went on to teach at Cornell University, become an author (his books include “The Strange Theory of Light” and “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman“), win a Nobel prize for his work in quantum electrodynamics, and alter the course of physics forever.

He also pursued several other subjects, such as interpersonal relationships (he decided to tackle this rather than fit the mold of the “socially awkward scientist”), lucid dreaming, safe cracking, hypnosis, psychedelic experiences, biology, architecture, hieroglyphics, and whether ants had a sense of geometry.

Feynman died from a rare form of abdominal cancer in 1988 at age 69. Forever a quirky man, his last words are reported to be, ” I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring.”

The Feynman Technique

How did Richard Feynman teach himself all of these subjects?

It wasn’t an abnormally high IQ – he was once tested to score around 125, which is high but certainly not abnormally so.

It was an extremely simple technique that he discovered early on…

Teaching others.

“To teach is to learn twice.” 

-Joseph Jubert

Let’s go a bit more in-depth on each of these steps…

Pick a topic, study it, and create cheat sheets.

The fairly obvious first step is to choose your subject. This works for any subject you can think of, but (according to Malcolm Knowles) mature learners learn best when the subject is relevant to a problem they currently have. You’ll have better luck with subjects that apply to a problem you currently face or a body of knowledge you are genuinely interested in.  

Break the subject down into manageable pieces. This can be done differently depending on the subject, so peruse some online courses or books (simply look at the Table of Contents or the Course Overview) on the subject to get an idea of how others have broken the subject down.

Scott Young, in his book “Ultralearning“, suggests breaking subjects down into Facts that need to be memorized, Concepts that need to be explored, and Procedures that need to be drilled (physical skills often fall into this category).

Next, you’ll study the subject thoroughly from multiple sources (books, YouTube, Udemy, blog posts, teachers, mentors, knowledgable contacts) and mediums (video, audio, text, “hands-on” experience). Getting information from multiple sources allows us to be sure our knowledge is thorough, helps us to encode (remember) the information better later, and can help to eliminate biases coming from the creators and authors.

It is perfectly fine if this learning path is not linear – that’s part of the whole point of it. Go on tangents, explore interesting sub-topics, experiment – it would certainly be approved by Dr. Feynman!

As you study, take careful notes. As you move forward, your need for these notes will decrease, especially if you take the time to review them using proper spaced repetition techniques. Take this opportunity to pare down your notes and condense them into as few pages as possible. Apply Pareto’s Principle – find the 20% of your notes that are “key” and get them condensed into a cheat sheet.

With Step One checked off, we move on to Step Two:

Teach the Subject to Someone Else

This “someone else” should be a total lay-person (or a group of them). Teach it as though they have no foundational knowledge at all. If it helps, pretend they’re 10.

Be simple and avoid jargon or overly-complicated language. Use analogies and diagrams whenever possible. Be concise, give the “PowerPoint version” (ever try to give a long lecture to a 10-year-old?), and keep it moving.

If you have nobody to teach this to, then write yourself a lecture, article, or presentation and give it to nobody (probably in private, as wandering about talking to yourself in public doesn’t necessarily go over well).

This idea is, in a large part, why I am starting this blog and why I chose this particular subject as my first article. My family can only listen to me clumsily explain things I’m learning so much…

“I couldn’t reduce it to the freshman level. That means we really don’t understand it.” 

-Richard Feynman

As you give your lecture, write your article, or create your presentation you will notice the “weak links” in your understanding.

Study Further in the Areas you Can’t Explain

As you locate these knowledge gaps, make note of them, and review your learning material to help you. If you are still unclear, see if you can find another source from which you can un-muddy the waters.

Don’t take this as a failure! Remember that this is the whole point of this exercise, be gentle with yourself, and understand that any learning project is a journey with no real destination. Enjoy the ride!

Simplify and Paraphrase

Continuing to apply Pareto’s Principle, work to simplify your explanation into even more concise and straightforward explanations. Break it down, make it simple, use fewer words, and condense the information.

As you go along, you’ll quickly notice your knowledge increasing, your understanding growing, and that you’re progressing up Bloom’s Taxonomy.  

In conclusion…

I know this sounds like a lot of steps, but the whole process can take relatively little time and can knock hours off of the time it takes to get a deep understanding of any subject.

Try it right now – pick a subject you are learning about, and try to write out an explanation from memory. This is a great way to test your comprehension (and study for exams). When you get stuck, make a note to delve further into that area. Once you are done, condense your “trouble spots” into a list and tackle them one at a time.  

Apply the technique to the subject at this micro-level, too, before going back to apply it to the subject as a whole. Break it down, make it simple, and teach it to a child.

Repeat this process until you are satisfied with your understanding.

You’ll be moving along in no time. Happy learning!

For further learning, a friend of mine named Jonathan Levi has done a podcast and written an article about Dr. Feynman on his website.  Check it out here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to improve your memory, supercharge your learning, and even significantly increase your reading speed, check out Jonathan’s SuperLearner Masterclass. I, myself, have taken many of his courses and currently work as a SuperLearner© Certified Coach to help students have as much success as possible with it. You can book a completely free 30-minute call with me here if you want to get an idea of what it is all about and how we can help you become a SuperLearner©!