Tell "I Recognize It" Apart from "I Understand It"
Added 2026-11-05
Familiarity flatters you; being able to produce it is the test.
I recently studied these topics: [list]. Separate recognition from understanding: 1) for each topic, write one question that a merely familiar reader can answer (multiple choice or true/false) and one that requires producing the answer; 2) list how "recognize but cannot produce" shows up — cannot state the conditions, cannot give an example, stalls when rephrased; 3) give a five-minute check for each symptom; 4) mark the topic I am most likely overrating, and why it is easy to mistake for understanding; 5) give a self-test I can do with the book closed. Do not make me recite definitions.
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[list]
How to use
If you can explain it with the material closed, it is actually yours.
Try tweaking it
- Ask for one diagnostic question first to locate where you are stuck.
- Replace "explain it" with "give three progressive exercises; correct me after I answer".
What you should get
- A diagnosis of exactly where you are stuck
- A small set of self-checkable exercises
Common mistakes
- Asking it to explain from scratch, and still not knowing where you went wrong.
- Memorising the explanation as the answer, then failing on any variant.
How to check the output
- It names exactly where you are stuck instead of re-explaining everything.
- Exercises are graded and self-checkable.
Where it works
- Good for: diagnosing where you are stuck, then giving the smallest exercise instead of a lecture.
- Watch out: ask it to flag uncertainty rather than memorising a confident but wrong explanation.