Learning From the Feynman Technique

They called Feynman the “Great Explainer.”

Richard Feynman (1918–1988), an author, graphic novel hero, intellectual, philosopher, physicist, and is considered to be one of the most important physicists of all time.

• He pioneered an entire field: quantum electrodynamics (QED).
• In the 1940s, his invention of the Feynman Diagram helped bring much-needed visual clarification to the enigmatic behavior of subatomic particles.
• His work helping scientists understand the interaction of light and matter earned him a share of a Nobel Prize in 1965.
• His work has directly influenced the fields of nanotechnology, quantum computing, and particle physics.
• In 1986, his research and explanations were critical in helping to understand the cause of the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

In addition to his groundbreaking research, Feynman was brilliant, eloquent, and an exquisitely passionate thinker. In the world of science, he stands unequivocally for his ability to synthesize and explain complex scientific knowledge. His lectures are the stuff of legend — Albert Einstein attended Feynman’s first talk as a graduate student, and Bill Gates was so inspired by his pedagogy that he called Feynman, “the greatest teacher I never had.”

Read more about how Feynman techniques can help you learn new concepts and apply them.

NOTE: if you are keen about physics or have a kid passionate about physics, you can read the original Feynman lectures at http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/.

About his lectures: ...  Caltech recorded each lecture and took photographs of each drawing made on the blackboard by Feynman.

Based on the lectures and the tape recordings, a team of physicists and graduate students put together a manuscript that would become The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Although Feynman's most valuable technical contribution to the field of physics may have been in the field of quantum electrodynamics, the Feynman Lectures were destined to become his most widely-read work.

The Feynman Lectures are considered to be one of the most sophisticated and comprehensive college-level introductions to physics... read more