Vague vs Specific

Has anyone ever asked you what you want for dinner and you said 'food'? That is a pretty funny answer — because of course you want food! But it does not help the cook figure out what to make. Today we are going to look at two kinds of descriptions: vague ones and specific ones. Understanding the difference is one of the most important skills for working with AI.

What Do Vague and Specific Mean?

Vague means unclear, blurry, or hard to picture. A vague description leaves out important information. Specific means clear, detailed, and easy to picture. A specific description gives enough information that someone can understand exactly what you mean. Here is a simple test: after reading a description, can you close your eyes and picture it clearly? If the picture in your head is blurry, the description is probably vague. If the picture is sharp and detailed, the description is probably specific.

Let's compare some descriptions side by side. Vague: 'A big animal.' Specific: 'A gray elephant with large ears, standing next to a river at sunset.' Vague: 'Make something colorful.' Specific: 'Draw a rainbow over a green hill with a small red barn at the bottom.' Vague: 'A poem.' Specific: 'A four-line rhyming poem about a frog jumping into a pond on a rainy day.' Notice how the specific versions paint a picture. You can almost see them! That is exactly what a good description does.

Moving from vague to specific takes practice, but here is a helpful trick: after you write a description, ask yourself these three questions. Can I picture it clearly? What color, size, or number did I leave out? If a friend read this, would they picture the same thing I picture? If your answer to the first question is no, or the answer to the third is probably not — it is time to add more detail.