Feynman Technique: What is it And How do I Use it?

What does Feynman mean?

Richard Feynman was a theoretical physics professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Between 1961-1963, Richard Feynman gave lectures on Introductory Physics for freshman and the following year, sophomores. His series of lectures were then edited and published as The Feynman Lectures of Physics, one of the most popular physics books ever written.

The Official Site of Richard Feynman

What is the Feynman Technique?

Feynman is widely recognized as one of the best teachers in history. He could explain complex ideas in ways anyone could understand. This is the Feynman Technique: Taking complex ideas and shaping them into a clear, understandable explanation. You should be able to explain your concept or idea to a fifth-grader and they should be able to understand it.

Why Does this Technique Work?

The purpose of the Feynman Technique is to clearly simplify what is being taught - to avoid using complicated technical terms and to get a solid grasp of the plain fundamentals.

If you can’t teach it, you don’t know it. If you can’t clearly explain it clearly to a child, you can’t clearly demonstrate your knowledge on an assessment. Using big technical terms to seem ‘smart’ will cause you to confuse yourself. Clarity is key.

Examples of Using the Feynman Technique:

I love psychology, and one of my favorite topics within psychology to study is Human Behavioral Psychology. If I wanted to give you an introduction to Human Behavioral Psychology using the Feynman Technique, this is how I would explain it:

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