tools-only Counting and Enumeration
Opus: Counts items accurately. Generates exactly N items when asked. Tracks quantities across sections.
Haiku: May produce N-1 or N+1 items when asked for exactly N. Counting errors increase with N > 5. May lose count in longer outputs.
Mitigation: Structure output so counting is mechanical, not cognitive.
For "generate exactly 5 items":
Output format:
1. [item]
2. [item]
3. [item]
4. [item]
5. [item]
Number each item. After writing item 5, stop. Do not continue.
For verification tasks ("how many X in the input"):
Step 1: List each X found, one per line.
Step 2: Count the lines from Step 1.
Step 3: Report the count.
Avoid asking Haiku to count-and-generate simultaneously. Decompose: first decide WHAT, then ensure the right NUMBER.
For large N (>10), provide the numbered scaffold in the prompt itself and have Haiku fill it in.