
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Xiao Ming walks 1 meter to place 2 stones in the first round, 2 meters to place 4 stones in the second round, and n meters to place $2^n$ stones in the nth round. When Xiao Ming has walked a total of 36 meters, calculate the total number of stones he has placed.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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