3 principles for better learning from a Nobel Prize winner
The methods behind the madness of the brilliant Dr Richard Feynman and how to apply them
Uuganmn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
If you’re in a hurry, you can skip to a summary of this article here.
A Greek scholar with a fondness for languages arrives in a new country. He is aware that in Greece there are very few children undertaking the study of the Greek language, so he was delighted to find that in this new country, everyone was studying Greek! He found a student who was about to receive his degree in Greek and asked, “What were Socrates’ ideas on the relationship between truth and beauty?”
The student had no answer for him.
He paused. Then he asked, “What did Socrates say to Plato in the Third Symposium?”
The student told him everything. Verbatim, in Greek.
Despite knowing the Symposium word for word, the student had failed to identify that within it, Socrates was talking about the relationship between truth and beauty. The student had failed to recognise the meaning behind the words that he had learnt. The words, therefore, had no real application.
Dr Richard Feynman once used this analogy to describe to a room full of Brazilian students, professors and Government officials how broken their education system was.
“That’s how it looks to me, when I see you teaching the kids ‘science’ here in Brazil”
Feynman had been teaching physics for 10 months in Brazil. He had reverted back to teaching the basics when he found that his students “had memorized everything, but they didn’t know what anything meant”. This analogy perfectly sums up something that made Feynman unique: an obsession with knowing the difference between being able to apply a concept from a place of deep understanding, and merely being able to recite it.
And it took him very, very far.
In 1965, Feynman was awarded the Nobel-prize in physics. Specifically, he created ‘Feynman diagrams’ — representations of different subatomic particles and their interactions within time and space. They’re still used today. Feynman’s career has been characterised as vital to shaping modern science.
Yet his pursuits outside of science make him even more fascinating.
“It’s odd, but on the infrequent occasions when I’ve been called upon in a formal place to play the bongo drums, the introducer never seems to find it necessary to mention that I also do theoretical physics”
From learning how to crack the safes of his superiors at the Manhattan project to playing bongo drums for a ballet production, Feynman truly was a unique character.
From his amazing life, there are so many things that can be learned, yet his philosophies for learning are particularly pertinent. Feynman was obsessed with understanding the world- and his following principles for doing so can be used to help you to understand yours. Or anything else you like, really.
Principle 1: Never fool yourself
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that.“
From his days as an undergraduate student at MIT, Feynman began to realise that his classmates didn’t quite seem to have the same grasp on what they were learning as he did. Even those in the years above him were completely stumped when he’d give them a problem that required application of their knowledge to a different context than the one in which they had learned it. He described this superficiality as “fragile knowledge”.
Feynman ensured that his own knowledge was not fragile by devoting himself to finding the boundaries of his own understanding. This principle alone set Feynman apart. When preparing for an examination as a graduate student, he exemplified this notion:
“On the title page he wrote: Notebook Of Things I Don’t Know About. For the first but not the last time he reorganized his knowledge. He worked for weeks at disassembling each branch of physics, oiling the parts, and putting them back together, looking all the while for the raw edges and inconsistencies. He tried to find the essential kernels of each subject.”
— James Gleick, author of ‘Genius: the life and science of Richard Feynman’
By intentionally challenging his understanding and seeking out what he didn’t fully understand, he was able to ensure that his knowledge transcended the recital of a concept within a narrow context (that within which it was taught). He understood the true depth of meaning behind the words he was taught.
Interestingly, that study process didn’t make much of a difference to his exam results, that time at least. He knew, however, that the true value of knowledge was to be able to apply it in different real-world contexts. By ensuring that he did truly understand concepts, he may have taken longer to learn them, yet the long-term payoff was obviously worth it. He wasn’t learning simply to get a high mark, he was learning to truly know the concepts so that he could then apply them to the world around him.
Lessons:
- Have the humility to challenge your own knowledge — seek the rough edges of the boundaries of what you know and then find the answers that can help you to smooth them out.
- Learn for a true understanding; although this may mean delayed short term-results, in the long term the dividends will be worth it.
Principle 2: Follow your interests
Feynman wasn’t fond of the written word. His autobiographies and many of his writings are transcripts of voice recordings. He was so visually minded that he was thought to have “associated colours with the abstract variables of the formulas he understood so intimately.” When it came to his learning process, he distilled down written information into diagrams that allowed him to understand particular concepts:
“Feynman had been frustrated by a complicated formula of Wigner’s for particles in the nucleus. He did not understand it. So he worked the problem out for himself, inventing a diagram…it proved to be a considerable simplification of Wigner’s own approach.”
Later in his career, this preference for diagrams would contribute to his hobby of art. Drawing under the pseudonym Ofey, he eventually began selling his drawings and even had a solo exhibition at one point. Through his drawn lines he wanted to “remind [people], for a moment, of this feeling about the glories of the universe.”
Not only did it contribute to his art, but this preference for diagrams would also lead him to win a Nobel Prize. Through art, he could use lines to express his deep emotion for science by highlighting the beauty of something such as a magnetic field, whilst in science, he could use the same lines to provide deep knowledge to others through mere illustrations themselves.
Romainbehar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
His wide-ranging interests provided him with intricate connections between seemingly unrelated disciplines. This allowed him to accelerate his learning and produce unique results.
Lessons:
- Explore your interests. Finding connections between seemingly unrelated disciplines that only you can make, can lead to amazing results that could only be produced by you.
- Finding deep understanding through methods that work for you can come through doing things differently to the norm, yet this can be a valuable asset for future problem-solving.
Principle 3: Teach!
“If you’re teaching a class, you can think about the elementary things that you know very well. Is there a better way to present them? Are there any new problems associated with them? Are there any new thoughts you can make about them?”
Feynman delighted in teaching others; taking the incredibly complex and making it simple whilst retaining its depth. This would become a defining feature of his work — Feynman diagrams are an example of this very concept. Teaching others allowed Feynman to bring together the other principles of his learning. Through teaching, he ensured that his knowledge was constantly being challenged and he could use his unique interests to find analogies in order to make things clear to others.
In 1964, Feynman gave a series of lectures at Cornell known as ‘the Messenger Lectures: The Character of Physical Law’. Bill Gates found this series when he was looking for something to watch on a holiday (as you do). He loved them so much that he bought the rights and made them free to access.
Even without a physics or maths background, I still binge-watched this lecture series over a few days (don’t judge). They are pretty great.
Lessons:
- By teaching others you can integrate the first two principles of Feynman’s learning. Use teaching as a way to push the boundaries of your understanding and find connections between your interests to create analogies for easier communication of knowledge.
Bringing it all together: The Feynman Technique
Feynman’s studying methods can be applied to anything that you want to learn. This technique integrates the core principles above so that anyone can learn in the same ways that he did: for true and deep understanding.
- Choose the concept that you wish to learn. Revise it through reading, taking notes, creating flashcards, whatever works for you. The goal of this first step is to learn the concept as best you can, to then be able to teach it in step two.
- Teach it to a 12-year-old. Einstein once said: “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” This step is working on the same concept; being able to condense your knowledge into a form that is easy to understand for anyone is a great way to solidify understanding, whether it’s to a 12-year old or your grandmother. If you have no younger siblings (or available grandparents), find someone else with no knowledge of the topic and try and teach it to them. Explain it out loud, create a written explanation, make a video, however you like. Do this without using any resources on the topic.
- Note down your gaps in knowledge as you go. Write down any questions that you have about the content that come up as you are trying to explain it. Note any questions from who you’ve explained it to. Then Seek out the answers.
- Go back to the start and refine your explanation until you feel comfortable that you could truly simplify the concepts down to a level where they could be understood by anyone. Repeat and try to use different analogies and contexts as examples of how to apply the concept.
Through the Feynman technique, you have a structured way to frame your learning of concepts at a greater level of practical depth for what they’re actually useful for; application to the real world. Give it a try and see how it goes!
Summary
3 principles for learning from Dr Richard Feynman:
- Never fool yourself: be humble enough to challenge the depth of your own knowledge constantly. Find the borders of what you know, then push yourself to know more.
- Follow your interests: Don’t be afraid of pursuing different things and doing things differently to others. Your unique experiences and the connections you make between them can lead to unique results.
- Teach: share what you’re trying to learn with others. How many different ways can you describe or present an idea to others so they will understand it? The more the better.
The Feynman Technique is a practical tool that encompasses all 4 of these principles. Here’s how to use it:
- Revise the content that you want to learn.
- Imagine teaching it to a 12-year old (or actually do it). Without looking at any of your resources. Note down the gaps in your knowledge that arise.
- Fill the gaps. Find answers to the questions that arise from your explanation.
- Repeat. Practice explaining the concept in different ways until you feel comfortable applying that concept and explaining it to others with concise ease.
Thanks for reading!
References:
- The Nobel Prize: Richard P. Feynman; facts.
- Surely you’re joking Mr Feynman! Adventures of a curious character as told by Ralph Leighton, By Richard P Feynman.
- Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick.
- The Drawings & Paintings of Richard Feynman: Art Expresses a Dramatic “Feeling of Awe”, Openculture.com
- The best teacher I never had: My video tribute to scientist Richard Feynman, by Bill Gates.
