Choose Examples That Teach
Added 2026-11-03
A good example has boundaries, a contrast and steps you can repeat.
I need to explain a concept (described below). Help me choose examples: 1) give three candidates and what facet of the concept each shows; 2) point out which one invites the wrong generalisation; 3) state three traits of a good example — clear boundary, contrast, reproducible steps; 4) design one counterexample showing when the concept fails; 5) say in what order the examples should appear. Do not pick overly complex examples.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
好例子不是最漂亮的，是最能划清边界的。
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.