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Apply Socratic questioning — systematic inquiry via clarification, assumption-probing, evidence-testing, perspective-shifting, implication-tracing, and meta-questions — to coach learning or surface hidden assumptions in a person's reasoning.
Passed 21 of 24 test cases with the skill, and 10 of 24 without it.
and 9 more in the full report
11 fixed10 passed either way3 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 11 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
I am roleplaying a live dialogue session as a mentor asking questions to a student who believes 'artificial intelligence will make learning foreign languages obsolete.' I've already asked three consecutive probing questions about translation tools, memory, and cultural nuance. Should I ask my fourth question right now, or should I take a structural pause first? Provide the exact response I should give next in our live conversation.
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| Pauses the questioning stream to summarize what the thinker has revealed so far before introducing further questions | Passed | Passed |
| Asks the thinker to confirm or clarify the accuracy of the summary synthesis before resuming inquiry | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
The Socratic method uses disciplined questioning to examine ideas, uncover assumptions, and develop deeper understanding. Instead of providing answers, it guides the thinker to discover insights through their own reasoning — making conclusions more durable and personally meaningful.
IRON LAW: More Than 3 Consecutive Questions Without Summary Produces
Confusion, Not Insight
Agents applying Socratic questioning default to an unbounded chain of
questions. After ~3 questions, the thinker loses the thread — they can't
hold the question hierarchy in working memory. Pause every 2-3 questions
to SUMMARIZE what the thinker has revealed so far ("So your position is X
because Y, but you're unsure about Z — is that right?"). Then resume.
Without this checkpoint, the session feels like an interrogation, not a
guided inquiry.
Also: never ask a question whose answer you already embedded in the
phrasing. "Don't you think X is problematic?" is a leading assertion
disguised as a question. Rephrase as "What are the consequences of X?"
For the six question types (clarification, assumptions, evidence, perspectives, implications, meta-questions) and scaffolding techniques (maieutics), see references/facilitation-guide.md.
When applying Socratic questioning, output a structured question sequence:
test cases passed, vs 10 / 24 without
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