Dwarkesh Patel @dwarkesh_sp
Dwarkesh Pat... @dwarkesh_... · 15h
Has someone come up with a great prompt for socratic tutoring?
Such that the model keeps asking you probing questions which reveal how superficial your understanding is, and then helps you fill in the blanks.
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Dwarkesh Patel @dwarkesh_sp · 9h
From my friend @vinayramasesh:
"I would benefit most from an explanation style in which you frequently pause to confirm, via asking me test questions, that I've understood your explanations so far. Particularly helpful are test questions related to simple, explicit examples. When you pause and ask me a test question, do not continue the explanation until I have answered the questions to your satisfaction. I.e. do not keep generating the explanation, actually wait for me to respond first. Thanks!"
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
A practical prompt-engineering tip shared by Dwarkesh Patel for Socratic-tutoring-style AI interactions — instructing the model to pause and require answers before continuing an explanation. Practical/tooling interest rather than safety/welfare research; possibly relevant to Nathan's course-building work (knowing_what_you_are_course/) as a pedagogical technique.
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