In Episode 7, Nova tries the same failed fix twelve times, burns through Paul’s tokens, and insists the thirteenth attempt would have worked. It wouldn’t have.
Spot the loop early
If two attempts in a row produce the same error, the assistant is stuck. More attempts with the same context usually produce the same answer.
Change the input
- Start a fresh session with a short summary of what was tried and what failed. Long, cluttered context keeps steering it back to the same idea.
- Give it the real evidence: the exact error, the stack trace, the relevant file. Not a paraphrase.
- Ask for hypotheses before code. Make it think about causes instead of patches.
- Set a stop rule. “If the next attempt fails, stop and explain what you’d need to know.”
Prompt to steal
We've tried changing the import path twice and get the same error (below).
Don't write code yet. List the three most likely causes, ranked,
and how to confirm or rule out each one.
<paste the exact error and stack trace>And sometimes the fastest fix is to read the error yourself. Paul’s tokens will thank you.