I'm in the amazingly fortunate position to be in a new developer position with a major employer in the Memphis area. This position, Software Developer I affords me the ability to ramp up my familiarity with a particular topic then employ it in my daily work. Basically I'm rapidly learning, doing, learning, and doing again. Occasionally, I'll pull out old notes - you know the type. Notes you take so diligently when you're in a class then *never* look at again. One of those notes I took was on the Feynman technique and it's totally appropriate for where I am right now. Here's a quick and dirty summary of the Feynman technique, a mental model that will help you learn new concepts as well as keep front-of-mind concepts you've learned once but not used often. 3...2...1...GO!
- Write the name of the concept at the top of a blank page
- Explain as much as you can about this concept in your own words as if you're teaching someone else
- Review your explanation for areas you didn't know well or know at all
- Immediately obtain the information to fill in the knowledge gaps you discovered. Whether there are many or just a few, the process remains the same
- If there's any part of your explanation that's full of technical terms, replace them with simple language.
That's it! This technique is so effective and an even more simplified version is something I've long suggested to fellow self-taught developers. When you learn a new concept from a tutorial - Close the tutorial! Open a blank editor, IDE, or piece of paper as appropriate, then replicate what you just learned as best you can. You will either replicate all, some, or none of the info. If knowlege gaps are present, simply go back and repeat *those portions only* of the tutorial. Then quiz yourself again. I've used this and it works.
Feynman FTW!
Richard Feynman info here:
http://www.feynman.com/
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