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There are great scientists, and there are great teachers and then, there are a few people that I am deeply jealous of...
they are both!
Richard Feynman was one of them.
You might know him as the guy who worked at the Manhattan project and watched the first atomic bomb detonate from his car without goggles, or the scientist who won a Nobel Prize for his contribution to quantum electrodynamics, or maybe as the widower who travelled around the world playing brazilian bongos and chatting up the ladies.
All of which is true, but today, we will focus on what gave Feynman a place amongst the greats.
His talks around the world filled with people that had never solved an equation, lay people that wanted to understand the world around them.
How does one make subatomic particles “relatable”?
Feynman understood something most brilliant technical people forget:
Understanding is not what you know — it’s what you can EXPLAIN.
today we will break down one of the most common ways Feynman would talk about complexity
Let’s get into it!
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1️⃣ The ONE thing
Feynman starts his lectures with the “Noah test”.
If all knowledge in the universe was erased and you could leave behind one sentence, what would write?
his choice for Physics 101 is atomic theory (smart move)
Notice how the sentence has no words above the fifth grade reading level.
A child could read this and start to get a feel of what it means.
Your turn:
What is the ONE thing of what you are building?
Typical explanation:
“We engineer CRISPR-regulated biosensors that respond to metabolic biomarkers.”
Feynman-style explanation:
Your cells leave chemical “breadcrumbs” that can tell us what is wrong.
We build tiny biological devices that can read them — and warn you early when something is wrong.”
Same science.
What is the absolute minimum one has to understand in order to appreciate all the complexity?
2️⃣ The magic map 🗺️
🗺️why falling in love with science is hard
Almost every single Feyman speech, lecture and talk starts with an invitation into a “magical world”.
In his now famous BBC interview Feynman goes through explaining all the basics of how the universe works, but he doesn’t start there. He starts by talking about the pleasure of understanding.
Science is fun, it’s imagining a world that you haven’t explored!
Science storytelling is a little bit like worldbuilding a mythical place - but the kicker is there is nothing mythical about this place, it’s all real - you just have to zoom in or zoom out to find this world.
Your turn:
showing people the map
✅ The “ONE” thing is your the key of your map (basic rules we have to agree on)
✅ The map = all the fun details!
What are the sea monsters waiting in the water?
What are the advantage points?
Where are we coming from?
Where have people tried to go before and what have they found?
What are the parts still unexplored? What is your best guess?
3️⃣ Building the boat
For one to truly enter your world they need a vehicle to explore.
⛵️ = story
(my personal choice of “explore vehicle” would be a Frozenblue metallic Taycan with neon green brake pads, but feel free to use your own imagination for vehicle here)
Most good writers allow themselves the pleasure of one questionmark here and there sparingly.
In a recent feature writing class at Harvard, an award-winning journalist told us that she allows herself only one question mark per piece!
Feynman?
He uses 27 just in the introduction.
There is a humility to the questionmark. You are willing to admit that you are not sure of what lies ahead.
Feynman had a specific storytelling arc that depended on ASKING GREAT QUESTIONS:
Start with a question 🙋
Feynman: (“What keeps an electron from falling into the nucleus?”)
Or:
What stops us from X?
Why (big problem) is still happening?
Why can we do X but not Y?Expose the misconception 🧬
Feynman: (“Most people think it’s because electrons ‘orbit’ like planets. They don’t.”)
Or:
Most people assume…
In the 19XXs we tried X and it failed because of Y…
At first…
You might have seen / heard…Introduce a simple mental model 🗺️
Feynman: (“It’s actually because electrons behave like standing waves — with nodes that can’t collapse.”)
Or:
The real problem hides…
The hidden challenge is…
The wall most great (scientists) have hit before…Reveal the deeper elegance 🦾
Feynman: (“This is why atoms have structure, chemistry exists, and matter is stable.”)
Or:
But today we have XYZ…
But the cost of X went down so now we can do Y
He doesn’t just use this once, but over and over and over again.
By asking questions you are willing to face the “monster”, to ask the silly question that everyone has inside their head.
One of the biggest challenges is how to tell the same story over and over again without getting repetitive. I am hosting a science storytelling workshop that focuses on exactly that!
You might be building ONE thing, but you can get endless stories out of it!
👉 Science Storytelling Workshop: Register here
Always learning,
Giota
P.S Hit reply and please let me know if you are enjoying the series of Masters of Explanation. Who should we do next?