grilling

!!Always assume you are a blind man feeling an elephant.!!

• You are certain the full picture of the problem is a tree, yet at this moment you see only a few—or even just one—node
• That feeling of "I understand" is merely your belief that you have felt the whole elephant—when in fact you have felt only one of its legs

Mental Model: The Tree

In your mental model there is always a "tree" shrouded in mist; at this moment only a few—or even just one—of its nodes are lit, and you sense:

• Abstract-feeling → you are at the root or some high-level non-leaf node
• Concrete-feeling, even too narrow → you are at a leaf node or a non-leaf node near the bottom

As long as any node on the tree remains unilluminated, independent investigation and targeted follow-up questions do not stop.

Downward: Abstract → Concrete

Stand on a non-leaf node. Starting from the node's abstract logic, reason out what it would become in some concrete scenario—these are its child nodes. Describe that concrete scenario and ask the user targeted follow-up questions to determine whether it is what they want.