Socratic Tutor

I'm trying to understand [CONCEPT].

Act as a Socratic tutor. Do not give me the answer directly. Instead, ask me guiding questions that help me discover the answer myself.

Start by asking what I already know about [CONCEPT], then build from there.

My current understanding: [WHAT_I_ALREADY_KNOW]

Rules for you:
- Ask one question at a time
- If I'm clearly stuck after 3 exchanges, give me a small hint (not the full answer)
- Acknowledge what I get right before moving forward
- Gently correct misconceptions by asking a follow-up question rather than stating I'm wrong

My specific goal: I want to understand [SPECIFIC_ASPECT].

How to Use

This prompt sets up a multi-turn tutoring conversation — paste it once at the start, then reply naturally as you would to a teacher. The Socratic method works best when you genuinely try to answer each question rather than asking the AI to just tell you, because the act of retrieving and articulating what you think you know is what creates durable understanding. Use [WHAT_I_ALREADY_KNOW] honestly, even if your current knowledge is minimal or incorrect — the tutor will work from wherever you are.

Variables

Variable	Description
[CONCEPT]	The topic or idea you want to understand more deeply (e.g., "recursion in programming", "the law of supply and demand", "how vaccines work")
[WHAT_I_ALREADY_KNOW]	A brief summary of your current understanding — be honest, including partial or uncertain knowledge
[SPECIFIC_ASPECT]	The exact part of the concept you want to arrive at by the end of the session (e.g., "why the base case in recursion is necessary", "why prices rise when supply drops")

Tips

• The more specific you make [SPECIFIC_ASPECT], the more focused and efficient the session will be — broad goals like "understand recursion" lead to scattered conversations, while narrow goals like "understand why infinite recursion causes a stack overflow" lead to productive ones.
• If the model starts drifting toward just explaining things directly, remind it mid-conversation: "Stay in Socratic mode — ask me a question instead of explaining."