There's the famous Feynman method i.e. Study hard, Teach it to others, Identify the gaps in your own knowledge, and Simplify/Synthesize.<p>But people often also forget that there is another method associated with Feynman aka The Feynman Algorithm (which was outlined by his colleague Murray Gell-Mann, a noble prize winning physicist himself). This method goes as follows:<p>1. Write down the problem.
2. Think real hard.
3. Write the solution.<p>Not to discount or discredit anything (or anyone) here but we must understand that Feynman was no average person and that his advice on anything related to learning or problem-solving must be viewed through an optics that adequately adjusts for his intellect as well.
I study a lot . I’m ok at it —- certainly no great talent. I haven’t learned any methods worth a damn and not for lack of trying, but I feel I know things about my own learning machinery which has made me much better at it over time.<p>In my opinion, learning how to learn is nuanced and operator specific. Lots of us are in the long tail of people for who highlighting, skimming, Anki, etc makes no difference. So, the advise from Feynman and generally I usually find is insufficiently meta — or overly first order if you prefer.<p>You’ll get more purchase starting at the second order, but few articles are titled “learning how to learn how to learn”.
So now that a little time has gone by, I can read all of this.<p>I think the most important thing to learning like Feynman is not trying to take motes abuot how to emulate Feynman.<p>The most important stuff is curiosity. About everything. Even things off limits! Everything meaningful. And don't try to define that - just be curious!<p>To poke at it or try to trap it or create simulacra are not the same things as being Richard Feynman. It's the intended legacy that matters. Learn from it, sure, but you're not gonna be it. And the unintended stuff - we all have that 'casue we're human. Ignore it.