Google Gemini introduced a new feature aimed at education called Guided Learning this month. The idea is to teach you something through question-centered conversation instead of a lecture.
When you ask it to teach you something, it breaks the topic down and starts asking you questions about it. Based on your answers, it explains more details and asks another question. The feature provides visuals, quizzes, and even embeds YouTube videos to help you absorb knowledge.
As a test, I asked Gemini’s Socratic tutor to teach me all about cheese. It started by asking me about what I think is in cheese, clarifying my somewhat vague answer with more details, and then asking if I knew how those ingredients become cheese. Soon, I was in a full-blown cheese seminar. For every answer I gave, Gemini came back with more details or, in a gentle way, told me I was wrong.
The AI then got into cheese history. It framed the history as a story of traveling herders, clay pots, ancient salt, and Egyptian tombs with cheese residue. It showed a visual timeline and said, “Which of these surprises you most?” I said the tombs did, and it said, “Right? They found cheese in a tomb and it had survived.” Which is horrifying and also makes me respect cheese on a deeper level.
In about 15 minutes, I knew all about curds and whey, the history of a few regional cheese traditions, and even how to pick out the best examples of different cheeses. I could see photos in some cases and a video tour of a cellar full of expensive wheels of cheese in France. The AI quizzed me when I asked it to make sure I was getting it, and I scored a ten out of ten.
Cheesemonger AI
It didn’t feel like studying, exactly. More like falling into a conversation where the other person knows everything about dairy and is excited to bring you along for the ride. After learning about casein micelles. starter cultures, and cutting the curd, Gemini asked me if I wanted to learn how to make cheese.
I said sure, and it guided me through the process of making ricotta, including pictures to help show what it should look like at each step.
By the time I was done with that part of the conversation, I felt like I’d taken a mini‑course in cheesemaking. I’m not sure I am ready to fill an entire cheeseboard or age a wheel of gruyère in my basement.
Still, I think making ricotta or maybe paneer would be a fun activity in the next few weeks. And I can show off a mild, wobbly ball of dairy pride thanks to learning from questioning, and, as it were, being guided to an education.
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erichs211@gmail.com (Eric Hal Schwartz)
