Master Complex Topics Like a Nobel-winning Physicist
This week I learned how to learn
The main topic of this week’s article is probably the most useful piece of information I’ve shared yet. Item two might be the most exciting and is just the beginning of my journey (some of which I’ll share here) into the human brain. Lastly, I have bad news for Nicolas Cage.
Feynman Technique, Understanding Complex Topics
How appropriate to cover a tried and tested learning technique in this weekly series that shares the interesting things I learn. The Feynman Technique is named after Nobel-prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who set this framework based on how he learned complex subjects.
Feynman Technique Steps:
- Pick a Topic
- ELI5, or Explain Like I’m 5 (years old)
- Identify Gaps
- Review & Simplify
Made simple, this technique forces you to gain such a well-rounded understanding of whatever topic you chose by emphasizing basic language and removing jargon. When you reach a point in which you can’t explain it to a five-year-old, it’s a sign you need to study more about that aspect.
Purpose of Dreaming
Finding the book Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain has already blown me away by explaining the “simple” things already known about the brain. While knowing full well there’s much more to explore.
The first topic that caused me to highlight like crazy is the reason we dream at night. It’s our brain’s response to prolonged darkness (being asleep) by creating images as a proactive defense to not losing (or forgetting how) our ability to see.
Buying an Authentic Declaration of Independence
Sorry, but you probably can’t buy the Declaration of Independence. At least not an original copy, but someone else did. Way back, in 2000, someone paid $8.14 million for an extremely rare first printing of the document. Interesting side note, there are 25 known surviving copies, four are privately owned.
