Learning From the Feynman Technique

“In order to talk to each other, we have to have words, and that’s all right. It’s a good idea to try to see the difference, and it’s a good idea to know when we are teaching the tools of science, such as words, and when we are teaching science itself.” 

Richard Feynman

1. Identify the subject. Write down everything you know about the topic. Each time you run into new sources of information, add them to the note.

3. Identify your knowledge gaps.  What are you missing? What don’t you know? 

4. Organize + simplify + Tell a story. Piece together your notes and begin to spin a tale using concise and simple explanations.

“I wanted very much to learn to draw, for a reason that I kept to myself: I wanted to convey an emotion I have about the beauty of the world. It’s difficult to describe because it’s an emotion. … It’s a feeling of awe — of scientific awe — which I felt could be communicated through a drawing to someone who had also had that emotion. I could remind him, for a moment, of this feeling about the glories of the universe.”

 — Feynman discussing the intersection of art and science.