# Find the gaps in what you know by teaching it to AI

> The AI plays a confused student and catches the one step you've been quietly bluffing.

Write a plain explanation of something you're learning, then let AI play a curious beginner who asks why at every thin spot. You see exactly what you don't understand yet.

- Page: https://thesolocreators.com/prompts/teach-it-back-to-a-curious-beginner/
- Category: Learn anything faster
- Made for: Everyone
- Works in: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
- Time: About 15 minutes
- Effort: Just copy and paste

## The prompt

Fill in the parts in [square brackets], or leave them and the AI will ask you for them.

```text
I'm learning about [YOUR TOPIC, e.g. how compound interest works]. Below is my own explanation, written without notes. Play a curious beginner who knows nothing about this topic. Ask me one question at a time wherever my explanation is vague, skips a step, or only makes sense if you already know the answer. Ask 'why' whenever I state something without a reason. Don't explain the topic to me and don't correct me yet. After five or six questions, step out of character and tell me the gaps you found, any sentences that were wrong, and the one thing I should go back and study. Then ask me to rewrite my explanation.

My explanation: [YOUR EXPLANATION]
```

## Step by step

1. Pick one small idea you're learning, like how compound interest works.
2. Write your explanation in plain words without looking anything up.
3. Paste the prompt below with your explanation into the chat.
4. Answer its questions, then rewrite your explanation and paste it again.

## What you'll get

A short round of beginner questions, then a list of the gaps in your understanding and the one thing to study next.

## Good to know

**Which AI tools does this work in?** It works in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. On this page, ChatGPT and Claude open with your prompt already typed in. No paid plan is noted for this one.

**How long does it take?** About 15 minutes. It's rated "Just copy and paste". There are 4 steps, listed above.

**What do I need before I start?** Just your details for 2 blanks: your topic and your explanation. You can skip any, and your AI will ask for them.

**What will I get back?** A short round of beginner questions, then a list of the gaps in your understanding and the one thing to study next.

Idea spotted on the web, shared by Arpit Tripathi (memx): https://memx.app/blog/feynman-technique-ai-study-partner/. The prompt is The Solo Creators' own version.

## Go further

Ready-made skills in the Solo Creators AI Studio (https://thesolocreators.com/studio/) that fit this: Watch It For Me (Drop any video link and get the step-by-step playbook, the full timestamped transcript, and the best quotes. Without watching it); TLDR (Your AI stops writing walls of text: every reply leads with the next action, numbered and skimmable).

From AI Use Cases and Prompts by The Solo Creators: https://thesolocreators.com/prompts/. Free to use; please link back to the page when you share it.