RAG & MCP Explained

[Uncle Gizmo]

Expanded Human-Based Definition of "Augmented" as used in RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

Imagine you're a human, and someone asks:

“What are the top 10 tourist attractions in Paris?”

• You search your memory — Eiffel Tower, Louvre, maybe Notre Dame — you can recall a few.
• But you know you might miss something — you're not a Paris tour guide.
• So you grab a travel guidebook or check an updated website — now, your brain is augmenting your internal memory with external trusted sources.
• You merge what you already know with new information — then answer, with confidence and accuracy.
  

That’s RAG:
Retrieval + Augmented = you pull external documents into your mental workspace before answering.

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Expanded Human-Based Definition of "Model Context Protocol" (MCP Perspective)​

Now, let's take it up a notch.

Suppose instead of just grabbing a guidebook, you (the human) have full access to a:

• Notebook of past travel experiences (your personal memory bank).
• A Rolodex of friends you can call (your tool use — phone a local Parisian).
• A library subscription (for real-time knowledge retrieval — travel updates).
• A list of travel agents you can email (outsourced functions — specialized APIs).

When asked about Paris:

1. Memory: You quickly access past trips to Paris — what you visited, how you felt.
2. Tools: You call a friend who lives in Paris and ask about current hot spots.
3. APIs/Documents: You check a live tourism website for any new attractions or closures.
4. Context Maintenance: You remember that the person asking prefers museums over parks, so you tailor your answer.

Before you even respond, your brain has coordinated:

• What you already know,
• What you can fetch dynamically,
• Who/what you can consult,
• What the user’s preferences are.

That’s MCP:
It’s not just memory augmentation — it’s orchestrating all your resources (memory + tools + external info + preferences) into a single, smart, coherent response pipeline.

 

[NauticalGent]

And lets not forget: CRS

You are asked by your wife to pick up eggs, bread and milk on your way home.

You drive right past the market, look at it and wonder why you feel differently from the many other times you have driven past it and continue on home to face the wrath of your spouse for not stopping.

Thats called CRS - Can't Remember Shit

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

face the wrath of your spouse

Your spouse uses the same acronym but with different words... CRS

Can Remember Shit

And she does, she remembers the last six times you made the same mistake!

 

[jdraw]

And tells you about it, repeatedly. I know 'cuz I also am a member of the CRS club.

 

[Isaac]

My wife and I were on the outs so bad for a few months several years ago that I started keeping a spreadsheet with dates and incidents to make sure I wasn't going crazy and could point certain things out to her. Now THAT'S messed up and I admit it!