Lessons / Part 3. Checking what an assistant tells you
21 Tell it not to agree with you
Objections to an approach that each point at a numbered clause or figure in a document outside the chat.
What people usually ask
Be honest, is my approach right? Don't just agree with me.What comes back
Agreement with a compliment, or the sign flipped to disagreement with objections so general they would fit any approach.
Ask this instead
My approach: <two or three sentences on what will be done and why>.
Attached is <standard or paper>. Argue against my approach from that document only. Where I use the term <term>, use this definition: <definition>, and no other.
Give exactly three objections. Each must point at a clause, table or figure in the attached document, with its number, and say what in my approach conflicts with it. An objection that rests on general knowledge or on what you think is good practice does not count; leave it out.
Then, for each objection that still holds after I have read the clause, ask me one multiple choice question on what I will do about it: change the approach, justify the departure in writing, or ask the document's author. One question at a time.Attach: the standard or paper to argue from, and the definition of the term.
Why it works: an objection tied to a numbered clause can be looked up and found right or wrong, which neither agreement nor general doubt allows.
Drafted with Fable 5.1 from my notes; chosen and edited by me.