What is in the context?

Objective and scope

Select a useful excerpt and distinguish a supported answer from a guess. This approximately six-minute lesson is an offline, scripted illustration. All workshop notes are fictional. It does not call an AI, open a vault, change a file or store your progress.

Step 1 · The saved notes

A knowledge vault is a collection of saved notes. Context is the information supplied for a particular model call, such as instructions, the current request, included conversation and tool results. Stored files are not automatically included. Earlier training provides learned patterns and capabilities; it does not establish the facts of our fictional private workshop. Saving a note does not automatically train the model on it.

Step 2 · Bring in evidence

A file-reading tool can return a note, or retrieval can select relevant excerpts. The surrounding application assembles what is provided to the model. In this diagram, a copy of the confirmed workshop sentence enters the context: “The beginner workshop starts at 18:00 in Room Cedar.” The original note remains in the vault. The other notes are not included. This lesson’s checkboxes only simulate that selection.

Step 3 · Use the context

The model processes the supplied context using its learned capabilities and generates output. A supported candidate answer is: “According to the confirmed note, the workshop starts at 18:00 in Room Cedar.” This example response is scripted, not generated by a model. Generating an answer does not itself modify a saved file; an actual write would need a separate permitted action.

Step 4 · Check every claim

Including a useful excerpt does not guarantee a correct answer. A candidate response might add “Free pizza is provided,” but the supplied note says nothing about food. The workshop time and room are supported; the pizza claim is unsupported. Check the source, its status and each claim. Even a faithfully quoted note can be outdated or wrong about the world.

Check 1 · Prediction

The correct answer is: “No. This call has not been given evidence for that event.” A plausible start time would be a guess in this fixture. Neither saved files nor merely naming a vault automatically supplies its contents.

Check 2 · Guided selection

• The final note, dated 10 September, says 18:00 in Room Cedar.
• The draft, dated 4 September, only considers 17:00 in Room Birch and explicitly says it is not confirmed.
• The equipment note, dated 11 September, lists keyboards and monitors, not the workshop time or room.

The smallest useful selection is the final note alone. A scripted answer supported by it is: “According to workshop-confirmed.md, the beginner workshop starts at 18:00 in Room Cedar.” Including additional notes is not inherently forbidden, but it is unnecessary for this request. Conflicting notes require interpretation rather than blind copying.

Check 3 · Independent attempt

• Note A confirms 18:00 in Room Ash on 2 October.
• Note B is a confirmed revision dated 8 October: 19:00 in Room Elm. It explicitly replaces the 2 October schedule.
• Note C reports a broken projector on 9 October and explicitly does not set the event’s time or location.

Choose Note B and the answer “19:00 in Room Elm, according to the confirmed revision of 8 October.” The most recently dated note is not necessarily the relevant source. A confident response is not proof of its truth; verify the specific answer against the relevant evidence.

One useful habit

Before trusting an answer about your notes, ask: “Which information was actually supplied, and which sentence supports this claim?”