The Best Way to Learn Anything:

这篇文章在许久之前就看过了，当时觉得这种学习方法看起来很简单，做起来很难，所以没有去实践，两周前又遇到了这篇文章，仔细的研究了这篇文章，决定试试这种学习方法，实践了一番，觉得挺好的，于是忍不住将这篇文章翻译出来，并分享给大家。
补充一点背景知识，关于Richard Phillips Feynman

Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics for which he proposed the parton model. For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin’ichirō Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965.
理查德 菲利普斯 费曼（1918年3月11日——1988年2月15日）是美国理论物理学家，他除了在量子力学的路径积分公式、量子电动力学、超冷液氦的超流体物理有贡献，在粒子物理学提出的部分子模型也有贡献，他因这些贡献而闻名。因为他在发展量子电动力学的贡献，和Julian Schwinger及 Sin’ichirō Tomonaga一起在1965年获得了诺贝尔物理学奖。

There are four simple steps to the Feynman Technique, which I’ll explain below:

1. Choose a Concept
2. Teach it to a Toddler
3. Identify Gaps and Go Back to The Source Material
4. Review and Simplify

我将在下面介绍的费曼学习公式，只有四个步骤。

1. 选择一个概念
2. 给小孩子教授那个概念
3. 识别出知识盲区并重新阅读原始材料
4. 复习及简化

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If you’re not learning you’re standing still. So what’s the best way to learn new subjects and identify gaps in our existing knowledge?
如果你不学习，你将停止不前。那么，最好的学习新的知识并且识别出你现有知识里的盲区的方法是什么呢？

Two Types of Knowledge（两种类型的学习）

There are two types of knowledge and most of us focus on the wrong one. The first type of knowledge focuses on knowing the name of something. The second focuses on knowing something. These are not the same thing. The famous Nobel winning physicist Richard Feynman understood the difference between knowing something and knowing the name of something and it’s one of the most important reasons for his success. In fact, he created a formula for learning that ensured he understood something better than everyone else.

有两种类型的知识，我们中的大多数都关心错误的那种。第一种学习集中于掌握知识的术语，第二种学习集中于理解知识。这两种学学习是不同的。著名的诺贝尔物理学奖获得者理查德 费曼明白理解知识和理解知识的术语的区别，这也是他获得成功的最重要的原因。事实上，他创造一个学习的公式，一个能保证你比任何人都理解知识的公式。

It’s called the Feynman Technique and it will help you learn anything faster and with greater understanding. Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to implement.

人们把它称作费曼学习公式，它会帮助你学得更快，理解地更深入。最重要的是，它很容易实践。

The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.

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The Feynman Technique

There are only four short steps to implementing the Feynman Technique.

实践费曼学习公式只要四步。

Step 1: Choose a Concept  （一：选择一个概念）

Now this can be anything from gravity to world history. It works for everything. Now take out a blank sheet of paper and write the subject you want to learn at the top.

选择想要学习的概念，拿出一张白纸，写出任何你想学习的东西，无论是地球引力还是世界历史，想学的都写到那张白纸上。

Step 2: Teach It（二：教起来）

Write out everything you know about the subject as if you were teaching it to someone else. Not your smart friend but rather a toddler. This may sound silly but this part is incredibly important and has worked wonders for me learning new things.

将你和那个课题相关的所有知识都写下来，并在写下来的同时想象你还要把写下来的内容教授给别人，而且这个别人不是身边的聪明的大人，而是小朋友。这个方法乍一听很滑稽，可是细想，对于学习来说，如果你连小孩子都可以教的懂，那你对于那个知识一定是掌握的。

When I used to learn new subjects I would explain them with complicated vocabulary and jargon. The problem with this approach is that I was fooling myself. I didn’t know that I didn’t understand. And often, because I was using the right vocabulary, my lack of understanding was obscured from my teachers.

我平时学习的时候，向别人解释都是很复杂的词汇或者是术语，觉得自己很高端，其实那只是在自己骗自己而已。而且使用书本上原话描述自己的观点时，给自己造成了疑惑，我并不知道自己不理解，而且老师也不清楚我是否理解了。

When you write out the idea from start to finish in simple language that a toddler can understand (tip: use only the most common words) you force yourself to understand the concept and you get a clear understanding of where you might have some gaps.

当你自始至终将自己的观点用小孩子都能懂的语言写出来时，要采用很通俗易懂的语言，必须要强迫自己首先弄懂，那样会促使自己更深入学习，还要去研究如何表达，在这个过程才能知道知识盲区。

Step 3: Go Back （三：返回原文章）

In step two you will inevitably encounter gaps in your knowledge where you’re forgetting something important, not able to explain it, or simply have trouble connecting an important concept. This is valuable feedback and where the learning starts to happen. When you get stuck go back to the source material and re-learn it. For example, if you’ve got a biology test coming up and you’re having problems explaining evolution in simple terms, open up the biology book and start re-reading the section on evolution. Now close the book, take out a new blank piece of paper and explain the sub-idea (in this case evolution) that you were having problems with using the Feynman Technique. Once you can do that return to your original sheet of paper and continue.

在第二步的时候肯定会遇到一些知识上的盲区—-不知道如何描述，忘记了和其他概念的联系。这个意识到自己不知道是非常有价值的反馈，这也是学习开始的标志。遇到这种情况怎么办呢，很简单，返回去原材料中，重新学习。例如，你将有一场生物考试，但是你忘记了进化是如何用通俗易懂的话语解释的了，这怎么办呢，很简单呀，打开生物课本，重新学习，重新阅读，读完，合上课本。再拿出一张白纸，将自己学到的关于进化的内容写出来。写完继续回到之前的话题。

Step 4: Review and Simplify（四：复习和简化）

Now you have a set of hand-crafted notes. Review them to make sure you didn’t borrow any of the jargon from the source material. Read them out loud. If the explanation isn’t simple or sounds confusing that’s a good indication that you’re understanding in that area needs some work. Also try creating analogies.

现在你已经有自己的手稿了，把他们拿出来，复习并确保自己并没有偷用原材料中的任何术语。并且大声的朗读出来，一旦发现有的解释不够简单或者表达不清楚，这就表明你还是没有理解还需要继续学习。另外尝试创造类比帮助自己理解与记忆吧。

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后记

Not only is this a wonderful recipe for learning but it’s also a window into a different way of thinking that allows you to tear ideas apart and reconstruct them from the ground up. (Elon Musk calls this thinking from first principles.) This leads to a much deeper understanding of the ideas and concepts. Importantly, approaching problems in this way allows you to understand when others don’t know what they are talking about.

以上四条不仅是学习的良方，也是一扇进入另一种思维方式的窗户，在这种思维方式里你将想法分解开来，并将他们重新按组组合起来（Elon Musk 把这称为从第一原则思考）。这也使的你可以更深入的理解想法和概念。重要的是，当别人不知道他们在说什么的时候，用这种方法解决问题可以让你理解。

Feynman’s approach intuitively believes that intelligence is a process of growth, which dovetails nicely with the work of Carol Dweck, who beautifully describes the difference between a fixed and growth mindset.

费曼的方法打心眼里相信智力是不断成长的，这种想法和心理学家Carol Dweck的思想完美契合，他优美地描述了固定型人格和成长型人格的区别。

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