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Misattributed to Albert Einstein
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the perfect slogan for teachers and science writers, which is exactly why it has been pinned on whoever the speaker admires most: Einstein, Feynman, Rutherford. The idea is old and sound, since being able to teach something is a test of knowing it, but the wording is folk wisdom. The closest genuine Einstein remark is gentler, hoping for theories simple enough for a child.
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In context
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No source in Einstein's writings or talks has been found for this line, and Wikiquote files the wording among its variants as frequently attributed to Richard Feynman too. It echoes older ideas. Ernest Rutherford reportedly said physics should be explainable to a barmaid, and David Hilbert said in 1900 that a theory is not complete until it can be explained to the first person you meet in the street. The nearest Einstein remark is from Louis de Broglie, who recalled him at Gare du Nord saying physical theories should be simple enough for a child to understand.
Sources (1)
- Wikiquote: Albert Einsteinentry on explaining to a grandmother / six-year-old, with variantsReference checked
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