Study methods
The Feynman technique: learn by explaining
If you cannot explain something simply, you do not understand it yet. The Feynman technique turns that into a method: explain the topic as if to someone who knows nothing about it, notice where you get stuck, go back to the material for exactly that part, and try again.
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Why it works
- Explaining in your own words shows the gaps reading hides
- Simple words force you to understand, not just repeat
- It works best for subjects built on reasoning: physics, economics, biology
- Each round is short, and each one leaves fewer gaps
How to do it
Pick one topic
Open the note on it and read the section once.
Explain it out loud
Close the notes and explain the topic in plain words, as if to a younger student. Memo's tutor can also walk you through it out loud, and you can interrupt with a question at any point.
Find where you got stuck
Wherever you hesitated or used a word you could not explain, go back to the notes, or ask the chat on the note about exactly that.
Explain it again, simpler
Repeat until the explanation flows. Then write it down as an answer in a practice test.
The study modes that fit best
Notes
To go back to exactly the part you could not explain.
Practice test
To turn your explanation into a written answer.
Podcast
To hear the topic explained simply by two hosts.
Questions
Who was Feynman?
Richard Feynman was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for explaining difficult ideas simply. The method is named after his approach, not written by him.
Try it on your own material.
Upload a lecture, a PDF or your slides and get notes, flashcards and a quiz in a few minutes.
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