# What is Bitter Lesson?

Rich Sutton's 2019 essay: general methods that scale with computation ultimately beat methods built on hand-coded human knowledge. For products, it warns that workarounds for today's model limits tend to get thrown away.

## In real work

Citing the bitter lesson, the PM declined a quarter of hand-written parsing rules and spent it on evals that show the moment a new model parses the forms unaided.

## Related terms

- [Capability](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/capability.md)
- [Tool Use](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/tool-use.md)
- [Computer Use](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/computer-use.md)
- [Model Generation](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/model-generation.md)
- [Golden Set](https://prompthausapp.com/learn/golden-set.md)

## How is this different from Googling it?

Google gives a definition. Prompthaus pairs each term with how it shows up in standups, PRs, prompts, and design reviews. Then it quizzes you until the word sticks. One term a day on iPhone.

- Category: AI Product
- HTML: https://prompthausapp.com/learn/bitter-lesson
- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/prompthaus-ai-vocabulary/id6776314407