How to learn anything

(Read time: 2 minutes)

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Prequel.

An especially big welcome to the 7,815 parents who have joined us in the last week. We remain one of the fastest-growing parent communities on the internet with 23,000 parents joining in our first month since launch 🙌 

In case you’re new here, Prequel is the free weekly newsletter for parents who want their kids to succeed. We give you weekly insights on how your children can get ahead ― in school and in life.  

We’ve got lots to tell you, so let’s dive right in. Here’s what you’ll get today:

💡 1 valuable thing kids don’t learn in school
⚡️ 2 tutorials for your kids to learn new skills
🚀 3 tools to boost your family’s productivity

💡 1 Valuable Thing Kids Don’t Learn In School

How to learn anything - The Feynman Technique

Richard Feynman is one of the most interesting men to have ever lived. Here are a few highlights from his life:

• He pioneered the field of quantum computing.

• Won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.

• Worked directly on the development of the atomic bomb.

Safe to say that Feynman was a remarkable man with remarkable achievements.

But one of his lesser-known but equally remarkable contributions was his learning method - a 3 step framework to learn and master any new topic. Here’s a breakdown of the method:

1. Identify the topic and gather information:
   First, identify the topic you want to learn about. Then, research and gather as much information about it as you can about it to increase your understanding. While this seems obvious, most learning methods fail because they stop here. Feynman adds in further layers:
   

2. Explain it to someone younger than you:
   Anyone can explain a concept in complicated words and jargon. But jargon often disguises a lack of true understanding. To achieve a level of true understanding, you have to explain things in simple words that anyone can understand - even a young kid.
   

3. Reflect and refine:
   It’s likely that a young kid won’t understand you at the first attempt. This is an excellent opportunity to identify gaps in your own knowledge. Once you’ve identified the gaps, go back and add new knowledge to those gaps. Keep repeating this process until the kid can understand you with ease.

⚡️ 2 Tutorials To Learn New Skills

1. How to find your genius zone (link)

2. How to find the right mentor in high school (link)

🚀 3 Tools To Boost Your Family’s Productivity

1. Glasp: Take notes and add highlights on the youtube videos you watch. (link)

2. Otter: Records audio, writes notes, automatically captures slides, and generates summaries. (link)

3. Magical: Automate boring, repetitive tasks (link)

Thanks for reading!

Did you find this issue helpful? Let me know what you thought of today’s issue and what you’d like to see from us next time.

Until next time,
Ivy
CEO Prequel, Beta Camp, Apollo
Follow my journey on LinkedIn