Lesson 19 of 25

The Elimination of Mental Static (Cleanliness)

A typo in a technical term, a half-named person, a sentence whose grammar hides two requests inside one - each makes the model guess, and a guess is where a wrong answer comes from. Clean the noise out: spell the function name correctly, give the full name, and split a compound request into separate numbered instructions. Note that the fixes in this chapter are all shorter than the problems. Clarity is not the same as length.

Reach for it whenWhen an answer comes back subtly off - the wrong author, a misspelled method, two requests fused into one muddled paragraph - and the cause is a small flaw in what you typed.

Spell technical identifiers exactly, because a typo like `cacth` is read as an unfamiliar token and gets guessed at rather than corrected. Split a fused request into numbered instructions - the numbering is itself the disambiguation. These prompts should stay short: on this platform the fix for ambiguity is precision, not elaboration.

Worth knowingIt will often silently correct an obvious typo, which is convenient and also the problem - you cannot tell whether it understood or guessed, and the guess is invisible. On anything consequential, add four words asking it to flag what it corrected.
  • Spell identifiers exactly; a typo becomes a guess.
  • Number separate requests instead of joining with "and".
  • Give full names - surnames alone are ambiguous.
  • Ask it to flag any assumption it made.
  • Short and exact beats long and careful.
The Corrupted Technical Term

Instead of

Write a simple Javascript function that takes a JSON string and uses JSON.parse to turn it into an object, but make sure to include try...cacth for error handling.

Perplexity version

Write a JavaScript function that takes a JSON string and parses it with `JSON.parse` inside a `try...catch` block. Return the object on success, `null` on failure, and log the error.

Before the code: one line listing any identifier in my request you read as a typo, and what you read it as.
Open Perplexity 291 characters
The Ambiguous Proper Noun

Instead of

Tell me about the famous author Narayan who wrote about a fictional town in south india.

Perplexity version

Give me a brief biography of the author R. K. Narayan, then explain the significance of Malgudi, his fictional South Indian town, in his work. Two sections. If any fact is one you are unsure of, mark it.
Open Perplexity 203 characters
The Grammatically Confused Command

Instead of

Summarize the article and tell me its main points and why its important.

Perplexity version

## Summary
One paragraph.

## Main points
Three, bulleted.

## Significance
Why it matters, and to whom.

Fill those three headings from the text below. Keep them separate.

[Paste article]
Open Perplexity 189 characters