My point is that computers, when used properly, can absolutely do math. And LLMs, when used properly, can absolutely explain the reasoning behind why a pound of bricks and a pound of feathers weigh the same.

Can they reason? Maybe, depending on your definition of reasoning.

An example: which weighs more a pound of bricks and 453.59 grams of feathers? Explain your reasoning.

LLM: The pound of bricks weighs slightly more.

*Reasoning:*

* *1 pound* is officially defined as *0.45359237 kilograms*, which is *453.59237 grams*. * You have *453.59 grams* of feathers.

So, the pound of bricks (453.59237 grams) weighs a tiny fraction more than the 453.59 grams of feathers. For most practical purposes, they'd be considered the same, but technically, the bricks are heavier by 0.00237 grams. /llm

It is both correct and the reasoning is sound. Do I understand that the machine is a pattern following machine, yes! Is there an argument to be made that humans are also that? Probably. Chomsky himself argued in favor of a universal grammar, after all.

I’m steel manning this a bit, but the point is that LLMs are capable of doing some things which are indistinguishable from human reasoning in terms of results. Does the process matter in all cases?