Lesson 96 · 2 min
Explain it back to AI
Explaining a topic in your own simple words shows you exactly what you do not understand yet, and AI can spot the gaps.
If you cannot explain something simply, you probably do not understand it yet. This idea is often linked to the physicist Richard Feynman, and it works for any subject.
Pick a topic and explain it to the AI as if it were a curious 12 year old. Write it in plain words, with no copying from your notes. Then ask it to find the gaps: what you skipped, got wrong or said in a fuzzy way.
Go back to your notes for those gaps, then explain again. Two or three rounds usually turn a vague idea into a clear one.
You can flip roles. Ask the AI to play a student who asks "why?" after each sentence. Those questions find weak spots quickly.
Do it now
Teach the curious student
- 1. Choose one topic you studied recently.
- 2. Write a 5 to 8 sentence explanation without looking at your notes.
- 3. Paste it into the prompt below and fix the gaps it finds.
I will explain [TOPIC] as if to a curious 12 year old. Here it is: [YOUR EXPLANATION]. Act as that student. Ask me 3 "why" or "what does that mean" questions about the weakest parts. After I answer, tell me what I got wrong or left out, without lecturing.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →Plan your study weekWords from this lesson
- AI literacy
- Knowing enough about how AI works to use it well, spot its mistakes and decide when not to use it.