The Feynman Technique: How to Learn Anything Faster and More Efficiently

One example of an analogy created by Feynman encapsulates the power of his technique. He was able to take a question regarding human existence and simplify it into a simple sentence that even a middle-schooler could understand. Feynman said:

"All things are made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another."

Here, Feynman is saying that if you don't know anything about physics, the most important concept to understand is that everything is composed of atoms. In one sentence, he communicates the fundamental existence of the universe. This is a genius ability-not only for scientists, but also for writers of any subject. Get to your point as succinctly as possible, and avoid confusing and verbose language.

If a concept is highly technical or complicated, analogies are also a good way to simplify them. Analogies are the foundation of learning from experience, and they work because they make use of your brain's natural inclination to match patterns.

Analogies influence what you perceive and remember, and help you process information more easily because you associate it with things you already know. These mental shortcuts are useful methods of processing new and unfamiliar information, and help people understand, organize, and comprehend incoming information.