Test Whether You Have Actually Understood Something

Recognition is not understanding. The test of whether you have understood something is whether you can explain it without the jargon, apply it to a new example, and identify its limitations. This runs all three in sequence and gives you a verdict on each: genuinely understood, partially understood, or surface knowledge. Useful before you sit in a seminar and discover you cannot say what it means.

I have just read or studied {TOPIC_OR_TEXT}. Test my understanding. Ask me to explain the central concept in plain language without using the key terminology. Then ask me to give an example from outside the text that demonstrates the concept. Then ask me to explain the main limitation or weakness of the idea I have just described. Give me a verdict after each answer: genuinely understood, partially understood, or surface knowledge. Be direct.