StartBeginner25 min read
1. How LLMs actually work
Prompt Engineering · 48 pages source format
Models predict the next token — they do not "know" facts. Treat every output as a draft until verified. This mental model saves you from trusting confident nonsense.
What you'll learn
- Token prediction
- Hallucination risk
- Temperature & sampling
Predict vs retrieve
LLMs generate plausible text. They are not search engines. Ask the same factual question twice — note when answers drift.
Do this now
Ask a model for a citation to a real paper. Verify the URL exists.
Pro tip. If accuracy matters, require sources you can click.
Clear?
Temperature intuition
Low temperature = more deterministic. High = more creative. Match setting to task.
Do this now
Run the same creative prompt at temp 0.2 vs 1.0. Compare.
Clear?