KERNEL — Easy to verify

Distillation — one idea, in my words

Write the irreducible insight. 50–120 words.
State the claim/definition in one sentence first.
Remove source phrasing; keep mechanism or rule.
If you feel the need for “and,” split into another atom.

Define explicit success criteria inside the prompt (counts, formats, tests). If a human can quickly verify the result, the model can target it; if not, the model will free-associate. Make “verify” part of the spec.

Why it matters – 1-3 bullets on utility, mechanism, implication.

What decision does this change?
What prediction does this enable?
What failure does this prevent?

Converts vague quality into checkable constraints.
Enables rapid acceptance or immediate revision.
Supports automated gating in chains.

Links

Does this collide/agree with an existing atom?
Add at least one forward link to a molecule/canonical note.
Add one tag-like topic (2–5 terms, not a dump).

Broader topic: #evaluation
Related atoms:KERNEL — Logical structure
Upstream source note:

Source excerpt (optional)

Paste exact quote or figure caption.

“Include 3 code examples” beats “make it engaging.”

Citation block (optional)

Source: {{source}} • Page: {{page}} • Key: {{citekey}}

volodith. “After 1000 Hours of Prompt Engineering, I Found the 6 Patterns That Actually Matter.” Reddit, r/PromptEngineering, September 29, 2025. https://www.reddit.com/r/PromptEngineering/comments/1nt7x7v/after_1000_hours_of_prompt_engineering_i_found/.