https://philipsheldrake.com/tags/reasoning/Recent content in Reasoning on Philip SheldrakeHugoen-gbTue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://philipsheldrake.com/2026/02/something-big/Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://philipsheldrake.com/2026/02/something-big/<p><img alt="Abstract image that looks vaguely like a planet rotating at speed." loading="lazy" src="https://philipsheldrake.com/images/something-big-1024x500-1.png"></p> <p><a href="https://www.noemamag.com/the-model-is-the-message/" class="external-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A 2022 article in Noema magazine</a> describes apophenia as &ldquo;faulty pattern recognition. People see faces in clouds and alien ruins on Mars. &hellip; Humans are pattern-recognizing creatures, and so apophenia is built in.&rdquo;</p> <p>A Google engineer had claimed an LLM to be conscious, sentient, and indeed a person, and the article explores reasons for why he had reached such a conclusion. It&rsquo;s well worth a read, particularly its observation that we apply concepts that have wholly anthropomorphic heritage and meaning to LLM technology. Pehaps we need new vocabulary.</p> <p>The technology&rsquo;s stochastic prowess is much advanced 42 months later, and perhaps that&rsquo;s all the more reason we continue to see things that aren&rsquo;t there. Matt Shumer&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href="https://shumer.dev/something-big-is-happening" class="external-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Something Big Is Happening</a> &rdquo; is the latest example.</p>