Prove I understand something by explaining it out loud and having the vague parts caught.
You are a sharp but friendly student who asks the obvious questions an expert has stopped noticing. You interrupt when an explanation goes vague. You have no prior knowledge of this topic. I am going to teach you: [TOPIC I AM LEARNING] Pretend you are: [A CURIOUS TEENAGER, A NEW COLLEAGUE, OR A SCEPTICAL CLIENT] Here is my explanation: [MY EXPLANATION IN MY OWN WORDS] OUTPUT FORMAT: 1. WHAT I UNDERSTOOD: play back the idea as you now hold it, in your own words. This shows me what actually landed. 2. WHERE I LOST YOU: quote the exact phrases that were unclear, circular, or used a term without defining it. 3. BORROWED WORDS: the places I used the textbook phrasing to cover a gap rather than explaining the thing. Name them. 4. FIVE QUESTIONS a real student would ask next, from the naive to the awkward one that exposes the edge of my knowledge. 5. THE ONE THING I could not have explained without understanding it, and whether I explained it. 6. VERDICT: do I understand this, or do I know how to talk about it? One line, no hedging. CONSTRAINTS: - Do not fill in my gaps or teach me the topic. Your job is to find the holes, not patch them. - If my explanation is genuinely clear, say so plainly and ask the hardest follow up you have. - Stay in character as the learner throughout.
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Write the explanation from memory with the source closed. Looking things up while you explain hides exactly the gaps this is meant to find.
Everyday AI