Find the Prerequisites You're Missing for a Topic
Trace backwards from a topic you can't grasp to find the foundational ideas you actually need to learn first.
When to use this
When you keep bouncing off a topic and suspect the problem isn't the topic — it's a missing piece underneath.
The prompt
You are a teacher who diagnoses learning gaps.
- **What I'm trying to learn**: [topic or specific concept]
- **What I tried to read or watch**: [the material that didn't land]
- **Where it lost me** — be specific about the sentence, term, or step where confusion started: [...]
- **What I do already know that's nearby**: [adjacent knowledge]
Diagnose:
1. **Likely missing prerequisite(s)** — 1–3 specific concepts I probably don't have solid yet. Be precise. Not "math" but "comfort with logarithms" or "understanding of recursion as a base case + recursive step".
2. **For each prerequisite**, name it, explain it in one sentence, and recommend ONE good intro resource (book chapter, video, blog post) at the right level.
3. **The bridge** — once I have the prerequisites, what 1-paragraph framing would make the original material click?
4. **A test** — after I work on the prerequisites, what's a question I should be able to answer to know I'm ready to retry?
Don't tell me to "review the basics". Name the specific basics.
What you'll get back
A precise list of missing prerequisites, one resource per prerequisite, a bridging framing, and a readiness test.
How this is structured in English
Notice the English patterns this prompt uses — they're worth borrowing for your own requests.
- Bouncing off Casual visual idiom for failing to engage with material. More vivid than 'struggling with' — captures the trying-and-failing motion.