◆ MATLAB

Perform scientific research

This is real work, not a feature someone invented — it comes from real job ads and real questions people asked. Below are four ready AI prompts: get it done, make it easy for the next person to say yes to, work out the right move when you are stuck, and stop it coming back.

4prompts

The same task, four prompts

today's deadline · the next reviewer · the stuck moment · the pattern
AExecute — do the immediate taskRun the attached simulation script with the new material parameters, then plot the…+
Run the attached simulation script with the new material parameters, then plot the stress-strain curve and the temperature distribution, making sure the axes are clearly labeled for the final report.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
BImprove — make it easier to acceptBefore I present these simulation results to Dr. Chen, make the convergence plots easier to…+
Before I present these simulation results to Dr. Chen, make the convergence plots easier to interpret. Highlight any oscillations, flag runs that didn't meet the error tolerance, and suggest parameters that might improve stability.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentThe new alloy's experimental fatigue life data just came in, and it's significantly lower than…+
The latest experimental data for the new alloy doesn't match our model predictions, and I'm worried about the upcoming review.
The new alloy's experimental fatigue life data just came in, and it's significantly lower than what our current model predicts. I'm afraid Dr. Lee will question the entire simulation approach at the review next Tuesday. I can't tell her we're this far off yet. What's the most likely reason for this discrepancy, and what's the fastest way to check the model's sensitivity to the input variables?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI'm constantly losing time manually tweaking plot colors, line styles, and legend placements to…+
I keep spending too much time manually adjusting plot aesthetics for presentations.
I'm constantly losing time manually tweaking plot colors, line styles, and legend placements to match our lab's presentation standards for every new dataset. It feels like I'm doing the same thing over and over. What habit should I change to automate the look and feel of my scientific plots?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?

Questions people actually ask

honest answers, no sign-up

Every task here was seen in the real world. Someone doing the job named it, a real job ad asked for it, or a lot of people asked about it online.

If nothing real showed a task, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

They are the same job approached four ways, because what you need depends on where you are.

Get it done today. Make it easy for the next person to say yes to. Work out the right move when you are stuck. Learn the pattern so the job stops coming back.

For most of these jobs it can carry the heavy thinking - draft it, sort it, check it, rehearse it with you.

It cannot sit in your chair, take the blame when a number is wrong, or notice what nobody wrote down. Let it do the first 80%. Keep the last 20% that is truly yours.

No. Copy any prompt and paste it into the AI you already use. No account, no score, no wall in the way.

Any of them. The prompts describe the work rather than naming a product, so they are not tied to one assistant.

That is also why they keep working when you switch.

Change it freely. Every prompt is a starting line, not a rule.

Put in your real numbers, your real names and your real deadline. The more you make it yours, the better the answer comes back.

The tasks come from real job ads, published job data and the questions people ask in public forums.

The steps come from MATLAB's own documentation, with practitioner sources for the traps the manual does not mention.

Push once. Ask it to sharpen the weakest part and to say what it assumed.

Most wrong answers come from a missing detail rather than a bad prompt - tell it the thing it could not know.