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The Richard Feynman Technique
Learn Difficult Topics Faster
The Richard Feynman Technique is a learning technique that helps you to understand complex matters more efficently.
As a student, you are constantly faced with new and intricate subjects. The problem? Learning complex topics takes time. Often, you have to engage with a subject for a longer period before you truly grasp it. Time you don’t have at university.
Rote Memorization vs. Understanding
This is the reason why a lot of people turn to mnemonic techniques such as the Loci system or the Major system, as well as apps like Anki that utilize the spacing effect,
Those are all great techniques for memorization, but from my own experiments, I know that the facts I don’t understand leave my memory the fastest. However, once I understand a concept, memorizing and learning the terminology becomes very easy.
Therefore, in my opinion, it’s pointless to memorize things that one hasn’t understood yet.
Understanding comes with many benefits: When you truly understand a concept you can apply it in new contexts, link it with other ideas, and develop new ideas based on this understanding.
