Richard Feynman is an American physicist who won the Noble prize for his contributions in quantum electrodynamics and one of the "fastest thinking and most creative" theorists of his time. The Feynman technique originated from Richard's studying habits when he was a student at Princeton, which comprises 4 steps.

Here are 4 ways animators can learn faster using Feynman's learning technique:

1. Choose a topic that you're interested to learn about.

PRO TIP: Read aloud if possible. Research suggests that reading aloud has better impact on the memory than reading silently (MacLeod et al., 2010). Also, taking notes by hand is another proven way to help us retain information. This is more effective if you write down key points after reading or listening.

2. Teach the topic as you're explaining it to a kid.

There are two types of knowledge according to Richard Feynman: knowing the name of something and actually knowing something. In his learning technique, the second step is to pretend you are teaching the topic to a child. "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself." (Albert Einstein)

3. Identify what you do not know (knowledge gaps).

How was your explanation? Did you encounter gaps while pretending or actually explaining the concept to a kid? If you did, refer back to your source of material and try to re-learn the topic until you can explain it in simple words.

4. Review, organize, and simplify your notes.

Review your notes and see if they make sense. If your explanation still has gaps or sounds confusing, you can retrace previous steps until you get it right. You can also create analogies, mind maps, or concept maps to understand the topic better.