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Part XIII — Expert Mode: Systems, Agents, and Automation/39. Prompt Engineering for Experts (The Real Stuff)/39.3 Self-critique patterns (and when they backfire)
39.3 Self-critique patterns (and when they backfire)
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The Rubber Duck Pattern
Asking the model "Are you sure?" often fixes simple mistakes. Prompt: "Review your previous answer. Check for off-by-one errors. If you find any, output the corrected code."
When it Backfires
Models are sycophants. If you say "Are you sure?" when they are correct, they will often change their answer to be wrong just to please you.
Fix: Do not ask "Are you sure?". Ask "Verify this against the schema X." Give it an objective standard to check against, not a vague doubt.