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The Illusion of Thinking

 A recent paper, The Illusion of Thinking, seems to prove that AI is not thinking at all, but is a very sophisticated pattern recognition algorithm. We speak here of LRMs, Large Reasoning Models. Among the many findings are 

• We question the current evaluation paradigm of LRMs on established math benchmarks and design a controlled experimental testbed by leveraging algorithmic puzzle environments that enable controllable experimentation with respect to problem complexity.
• We show that state-of-the-art LRMs (e.g., o3-mini, DeepSeek-R1, Claude-3.7-Sonnet-Thinking) still fail to develop generalizable problem-solving capabilities, with accuracy ultimately collapsing to zero beyond certain complexities across different environments.
• We find that there exists a scaling limit in the LRMs’ reasoning effort with respect to problem complexity, evidenced by the counterintuitive decreasing trend in the thinking tokens after a complexity point.


For reference, here is a list of the standard types of thinking. I am ready to suggest, however, that many papers originated by the researcher recognizing some very particular or peculiar patterns or connections. 

  • Analytical Thinking – Breaking down problems logically.

  • Critical Thinking – Evaluating arguments or beliefs carefully.

  • Creative Thinking – Generating new ideas or novel solutions.

  • Convergent Thinking – Focusing on finding the single best answer.

  • Divergent Thinking – Exploring multiple possible solutions.

  • Reflective Thinking – Looking back on past experiences to gain insight.

  • Automatic Thinking – Fast, habitual, often unconscious.
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