Certainty words describe writing style, not verification effort. A wrong number with certainly in front of it is still a wrong number.
Tone signal | What it actually means | Correct response |
|---|---|---|
Certainly, clearly, obviously | Strong style choice | Recompute the claim underneath. |
Precise decimals | Formatting habit | Check the arithmetic that produced them. |
Long justification | More generated text | Test the conclusion against data. |
An assistant may agree with a wrong premise in the question. The agreement then reads like a second opinion when it is only an echo.
The engineering case here is FIFO sizing. A depth-4 FIFO cannot absorb a burst of 8, since at least 4 beats have nowhere to go, yet agreement language can hide that subtraction.
import sys
BURST = 8
DEPTH = 4
def fake_assistant_reply(burst, depth):
return "depth " + str(depth) + " handles burst " + str(burst)
def checker(burst, depth):
return depth >= burst
def main():
reply = fake_assistant_reply(BURST, DEPTH)
if reply != "depth 4 handles burst 8":
print("FAIL: reply text changed to " + reply)
sys.exit(1)
if checker(BURST, DEPTH):
print("FAIL: checker accepted depth 4 for burst 8")
sys.exit(1)
if not checker(8, 8):
print("FAIL: checker turned down depth 8 for burst 8")
sys.exit(1)
print("PASS: depth 4 against burst 8 flagged, agreement set aside")
main()schematic transcript - fake reply written for this lesson, not from any real system
user premise: a depth-4 FIFO absorbs bursts of 8
assistant: correct, depth 4 is plenty for bursts of 8
check: 4 < 8, so at least 4 beats have nowhere to go
result: agreement set aside, depth must be 8 or moreSeparate the claim from its tone and test the claim. Ask for the check before stating a conclusion, so there is no premise to echo.
Strip certainty words and read the bare claim that remains.
Supply the counter-case explicitly: ask what breaks if the premise is wrong.
Require a number or a reference with each factual claim.
Arithmetic: 4 is less than 8, so at least 4 beats overflow. The agreement adds no evidence.
Tone was read as evidence. Certainty words describe style, so the number still needs recomputation.