Observe the world
Algorithms: one technique at a time
Not "sorting" or "dynamic programming", but "the boundary in binary search", "defining the DP state", "is this duplicate on the same level or the same branch" — one prompt drills one thing, until you can say why.
These prompts only exist in 简体中文 for now.
How to use this
This set teaches rather than interrogates: it guides you instead of pressing until you have nothing left to say. When you're stuck it first asks which layer you're stuck at (never heard of it / know it but not why / know why but can't write it), then decides what to give. Only after guiding you twice on the same point will it spell the answer out — and then it asks you to say it back in your own words.
How to start
- Pick one, open it, copy the prompt.
- Paste it into a brand-new conversation, say nothing, and wait for its first question.
- Trace by hand before you write code — it will interrupt you. Walking through an array of length 2 beats writing the template ten times.
Four commands you can call out at any time
跳过move to the next scene now换个说法explain this bit again from another angle直说吧spell the answer out, then make me say it back复盘jump to the wrap-up and print the review card
Three traps
- Don't read the answer key at the end first — that "how people get it wrong" section is the answer to every question it will ask you.
- Don't rush to code. With algorithms, writing code is the easiest way to hide the fact that you haven't actually thought it through.
- When it starts praising you, point it back to the "don't praise me" rule. Guiding is not coddling.
Can't come up with a solution? Start with defining the DP state. Always off by one? Binary search and prefix sums. Can't recognise the shape of a problem? Monotonic stack and sliding window. The complexity one underpins several others — do it early.