Getting to "Know"

The online newsletter Farnam Street in 2012 ran an article on the learning practices of Richard Feynman . Feyman observed that there is a huge difference between someone knowing the name and domain of a concept (what we retain from a typical classroom education) and the mastery that is demonstrated when one can utilize the concept and explain it to another person.

His test for mastery is as follows:

1. Choose a concept you want to learn about
2. Pretend you are teaching it to a student in grade 6
3. Identify gaps in your explanation; Go back to the source material, to better understand it.
4. Review and simplify (optional)

-DD