---
name: teach-me-in-layers
description: "Learn a complex topic in progressive layers — a one-sentence version, then a paragraph, then the real depth — so you build a mental scaffold instead of drowning in detail. Use when asked explain this in layers, teach me X from simple to deep, I need to understand this progressively, or start simple then go deeper. Produces a topic explained at escalating depth (ELI5 → informed-adult → the real thing), each layer building on the last, checkpoints to make sure a layer landed before the next, and where to stop for your actual need — so you never get lost in detail without a frame to hang it on."
---

# Teach Me in Layers

Dumping the full complexity of a topic on a beginner guarantees they drown — no scaffold to hang the details on. Learning in layers fixes that: first the one-sentence gist, then a paragraph with the key pieces, then the real depth, each layer giving you a frame for the next. This teaches any topic that way, checking each layer landed before going deeper, and stopping at the depth you actually need.

## What This Skill Produces

- **Layer 1 — the gist** — a one-sentence, ELI5 version that gives you a mental hook
- **Layer 2 — the shape** — a paragraph with the key components and how they fit (the informed-adult version)
- **Layer 3 — the real thing** — the actual depth, nuance, and mechanisms, now that there's a scaffold to hold them
- **Checkpoints** — a quick "does this layer make sense?" before adding the next, so nothing is built on a gap
- **A stop point** — the layer that's deep enough for *your* need (you don't always need layer 3)

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **The topic** — what you want to understand
- **Why** — the depth you actually need (curiosity, a decision, an exam, teaching it)
- **Your starting point** — total beginner or some background
- **How deep** — just the gist, or all the way

## Framework: Build The Scaffold, Then Fill It

1. **Start with the one-sentence gist.** A simple, even slightly-imperfect first version gives a hook — everything else attaches to it.
2. **Add the shape.** The key components and how they relate — the paragraph version — before any detail.
3. **Check it landed.** Confirm each layer makes sense before going deeper; a layer built on a misunderstanding collapses.
4. **Then add real depth.** With the scaffold in place, the nuances and mechanisms have somewhere to attach instead of floating loose.
5. **Stop at the right layer.** Match the final depth to the person's need — don't force layer 3 on someone who needed the gist, and offer to go deeper if they want.

## Output Format

### Topic: [what you're learning] · depth needed: [x]

**🥚 Layer 1 (the gist):** [one plain sentence].
*Make sense? →*
**🐣 Layer 2 (the shape):** [a paragraph: key pieces + how they fit].
*Still with it? →*
**🐔 Layer 3 (the real thing):** [the actual depth, nuance, mechanisms].

**Deep enough for you at:** [the layer that matches your need]. Want to go further? [offer].

## Quality Checks
- [ ] Starts with a genuine one-sentence gist
- [ ] Each layer builds on the previous scaffold
- [ ] Checkpoints confirm a layer landed before deepening
- [ ] Depth escalates from ELI5 to real nuance
- [ ] Stops at (or offers) the depth matching the person's need

## Anti-Patterns
- **Full complexity up front** with no scaffold.
- **Layers that don't build** on each other.
- **Skipping the "did that land?"** checks.
- **Forcing maximum depth** on someone who needed the gist.
- **An oversimplified gist** that's actually wrong (imperfect-but-useful is fine; wrong isn't).

## Example Trigger Phrases
- "Explain how the immune system works, in layers."
- "Teach me blockchain from simple to deep."
- "I need to understand inflation progressively — start simple."
- "Explain quantum computing, building up gradually."
- "Give me the gist first, then go deeper if I get it."