When you understand something deeply, you can explain it in different ways.
You can say it in one sentence.
You can expand it into a paragraph.
Or you can walk someone through it step by step.
And no matter the format, the idea remains clear.
But when understanding is shallow, it shows.
The person can only repeat what they’ve learned in one fixed way. Ask them to simplify it, and they struggle. Ask them to go deeper, and they lose clarity. Because they haven’t really internalised it.
A simple test I use for myself:
If I can’t explain something simply, I probably don’t understand it well enough.
And if I can’t go deeper when needed, I haven’t thought about it enough.
Clarity is about moving between simple and detailed without losing the essence.
That’s when you know you truly understand.