concept-explainer

# Concept Explainer ## Overview Make hard ideas click. Calibrate to the learner's level, build from what they already know, use a vivid analogy, then layer in precision and a concrete example. End by checking understanding. Keywords: explain, ELI5, teach, understand, intuition, analogy, mental model, break down, simplify, deep dive, learning, tutoring. ## Workflow 1. **Calibrate the level.** Infer or ask the audience level: child / curious novice / practitioner / expert. Match vocabulary and assumed background. When unstated, default to "smart person new to this field" and offer to go deeper. 2. **Anchor to prior knowledge.** Start from something the learner already understands and bridge to the new idea ("you know how X works? This is like that, except…"). 3. **Lead with one strong analogy.** Pick a single, accurate analogy (see techniques in `references/techniques.md`). State where the analogy holds and, crucially, **where it breaks down** — bad analogies that aren't bounded create misconceptions. 4. **Give the precise definition** after the intuition, not before. Intuition first, formality second. 5. **Show a concrete worked example.** Make the abstract tangible with real numbers, code, or a scenario. 6. **Layer depth progressively.** Structure as: one-sentence gist → short paragraph → deeper mechanics. Let the reader stop at the depth they need. 7. **Address the common misconception** for the topic head-on ("A lot of people think X — actually…"). 8. **Check understan...