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On today’s occasion of teacher’s day, I would like to write about one of
the greatest Physicists, and more importantly A great Teacher,
Dr.Richard Feynman.
Feynman was an american physicist who was not only famous for his work
on the Manhattan project but was widely known for his fun way of
teaching. He worked with other physicists like Robert Openheimer during
the war to create the Nuclear warhead which would be deployed against
Japan. He also was conferred the Nobel Prize for his work in the field
of quantum electrodynamics with two other physicists. He also wrote two
famous autobiographies namely, “Are you joking Mr. Feynman?” and “What
do you Care What other people think”, Both of which are amazing reads
and would recommend them to you all.
But, Enough about his Achievements. Let’s talk about what made him a
great teacher. He was famous for explaining most difficult and abstract
concepts in a very easy and understandable way to everyone including
children, students and even his own colleagues. He taught at famous
universities like Cornell and Caltech and also gave lectures at several
other colleges. Even while continuing his research, he still used to
teach as he felt it was a refreshing activity. He believed that to gain
complete mastery over a concept or subject, one has to teach other
people about it. In fact, This technique of learning was named after
him.
Now, Let us discuss how we can use the “Feynman Technique” to improve
the way we learn. There are 4 simple steps to it. They are:
1.Select a topic or concept you want to learn
2.Break it down into simpler or smaller parts
3.Try teaching it to someone younger than you or pretend to teach
someone
4.Find the Gaps in your explanation and revisit the concept/topic
again
5.Repeat steps 1-4 until you gain complete mastery over the topic
And as Dr.Feynman always said, learning is fun, and hence don’t forget
to enjoy your learning. By following these simple steps, you can make
learning anything new fun and easy. I hope that this learning technique
will help you in your life. I believe that Dr. Feynman has shown us that
no concept is too difficult to learn for any person of any age through
his teaching and hence leave your apprehensions behind and enjoy your
learning and become masters of the Subject.
Happy learning and Happy Teachers Day to all!
SS Karthik
Writer and Web developer
Philomath Team