# Reflection Template

> This is source/reflection.template.md — the canonical structure for UNDERSTANDING.md.
> The learner fills in UNDERSTANDING.md (root level), not this file.

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## Pre-Implementation Section

Fill this out BEFORE writing any code.

### 1. Core Concept (ELI12)

**Prompt:** Explain the main concept like you would to a curious 12-year-old. Use an analogy. Avoid technical jargon.

*Learner writes here.*

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### 2. Core Concept (ELI-Engineer)

**Prompt:** Now explain it with technical depth. What is it actually doing under the hood? Assume the reader knows software engineering but not AI.

*Learner writes here.*

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### 3. Real-World Analogy

**Prompt:** What does this remind you of outside of AI? The analogy should explain the mechanism, not just the surface behavior.

*Learner writes here.*

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### 4. Why It Exists

**Prompt:** What problem existed before this solution? What were engineers doing instead, and why did that fail?

*Learner writes here.*

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### 5. What Breaks Without It

**Prompt:** If you removed this component from a real AI product, what would users experience? Be specific.

*Learner writes here.*

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### 6. My Mental Model

**Prompt:** Draw or describe how you picture this working. Boxes and arrows are fine. The goal is to externalize your internal model so a mentor can find gaps.

*Learner writes here.*

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### 7. My Prediction

**Prompt:** Before you implement, predict: what will be the hardest part to build? What will surprise you?

*Learner writes here.*

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### 8. Open Questions

**Prompt:** What do you still not fully understand? What confused you in the lesson?

*Learner lists questions here.*

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## Post-Implementation Section

Fill this out AFTER building, breaking, and evaluating.

### 9. What Changed

**Prompt:** What did implementation teach you that the lesson didn't? Where was your mental model wrong?

*Learner writes here.*

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### 10. Biggest Surprise

**Prompt:** What surprised you most about how this actually works in code?

*Learner writes here.*

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### 11. What I Got Wrong Initially

**Prompt:** What did you believe before that turned out to be incorrect or incomplete?

*Learner writes here.*

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### 12. Updated Mental Model

**Prompt:** Update your mental model from section 6 based on what you learned.

*Learner writes here.*

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### 13. The One Thing

**Prompt:** If you could only tell your past self one thing before starting this project, what would it be?

*Learner writes here.*