I think anyone who thinks neural nets work exactly like a brain at this point in time are pretty simplistic in their view. Then again you said “like a brain” so You’re already into metaphor territory so I don’t know what you’re disagreeing with.

Learning as a human and learning as an LLM are just different philosophical categories. We have consciousness, we don’t know if LLMs do. That’s why we use the word “like”. Kind of like, “head-throbbed heart-like”.

We don’t just use probability. We can’t parse 10,000,000 parameter spaces. Most people don’t use linear algebra.

A simulation of something is not equal to that something in general.

Welcome to reading a super g. And no not like most writers. In fact I’d say he’s pretty much unique.

Dude worked at and around the Santa Fe institute which is the premier scientific institution studying complexity and McCarthy would often correct and edit the papers of the scientists that worked there. And these are some of the best in the world.

His capacity for description imo stands toe to toe with Faulkner on his best day. His understanding of scene switching is better than any writer I’ve ever encountered.