"Hide your strength and bide your time" is a strategy that advises patience and discretion. It suggests keeping your true capabilities or resources hidden until the right moment to use them arises. The idea is to avoid revealing your full potential too early, which could cause opponents or competitors to prepare for or counter your strengths. Instead, by waiting for the most opportune time, you can strike with maximum effectiveness when others may least expect it, giving you an advantage.

This approach is often linked to strategic thinking, particularly in competitive environments like business or politics, where revealing all your cards too soon can lead to vulnerability. The phrase encourages self-control, prudence, and timing.

Richard Feynman's quote suggests that true understanding of a subject involves the ability to explain it in simple terms that even a beginner, like a freshman, can grasp. If you can't simplify complex concepts and communicate them clearly to someone without prior knowledge, it likely means your own understanding is incomplete. This emphasizes the importance of clarity, mastery, and depth in learning, as it challenges the assumption that merely knowing jargon or complex details equates to understanding. Teaching at a basic level requires you to break down concepts into their fundamental principles, which reveals the depth of your own comprehension.