Why Did Naval Say, "Teaching is the Best Way to Learn"?

Translation

Hey, that's a great question! Naval's statement, "The best way to learn is to teach," might sound like a cliché, but it actually captures a profound principle of learning.

Let me try to break this down in plain language with real-life examples.

Why is "teaching others" the "best way to learn"?

Imagine you've just finished reading a book on "personal finance."

Passive Learning (Self-Study): After reading, you think, "Yeah, I get it." But the moment you close the book and try to explain how to allocate assets or calculate risk, your mind goes blank. The concepts feel scattered and vague—you’ve merely recognized them without truly grasping them.
Learning by Teaching (Preparing to teach a friend): Now suppose you need to explain the book’s content to a friend who knows nothing about finance. Something magical happens:

1. You’re forced to turn "fuzzy" knowledge into "clarity"

To explain clearly, you can’t rely on vague impressions. You must:

Organize logically: Which concept matters most? What comes first? How do ideas connect? (e.g., You must define "risk" before explaining "asset allocation" to mitigate it).
Distill the essence: You can’t recite the whole book. You extract 2-3 core takeaways—this refinement process is deep thinking in action.

It’s like decluttering a messy room: You think you know where things are, but only when you categorize and label everything do you truly understand what you own and where it belongs. Teaching is labeling and boxing your knowledge.

2. You proactively uncover gaps in your understanding

While drafting your explanation or rehearsing mentally, you’ll suddenly ask:

"Wait, why exactly does inflation devalue savings? What’s the math?"
"I know dollar-cost averaging works, but could I explain how it lowers costs?"

These self-inquiries reveal blind spots. If you were just reading, you’d gloss over them. But teaching creates accountability—you must fill these gaps, or risk making a fool of yourself. Teaching pushes you from 80% to 100% mastery.

3. "Explaining it in your own words" is the ultimate test of understanding

This is the heart of the Feynman Technique. Physics legend Richard Feynman said: "If you can’t explain a concept simply, you don’t truly understand it."

Translate jargon (e.g., "Beta coefficient") into plain language ("how wildly your stock swings with the market").
Use vivid analogies for complex ideas (e.g., "don’t put all eggs in one basket" for asset allocation).

This "translation" process forces your brain to grasp fundamentals. If you succeed, the knowledge truly becomes yours.

4. Teaching etches knowledge into long-term memory

Psychology shows Active Recall outperforms passive review for retention:

Passive Review: Rereading notes or textbooks.
Active Recall: Closing materials and reconstructing knowledge from memory.

Teaching is active recall amplified: You recall, logically structure, and articulate concepts clearly. This cements knowledge deeply—making it unforgettable.

In summary

So, Naval’s "Teaching is the best way to learn" means this:

When you learn intending to teach, you transform from a passive information receiver into an active knowledge processor and communicator.

This shift activates a powerful learning engine:

To explain clearly, you systematize knowledge.
To avoid mistakes, you plug every gap.
To make others understand, you distill ideas to their essence.
The act of outputting engrains knowledge in your mind.

Next time you learn something new—a skill, theory, or fact—try explaining it to a friend or writing a short post. You’ll experience those "Wait, I don’t get this yet..." and "Aha!" moments that redefine learning itself.