It’s not bizarre. Hallucination is just another word for invention, the same cognitive move that produces fiction. In one context that’s failure, in another it’s success. Calling that bizarre is like calling imagination itself an error. If that feels strange to you, you’re missing something fundamental about how creativity works. Everyone knows this. Any human being with a pulse understands the difference between making something up for art and making something up by mistake. So when you act like that’s an alien concept, I don’t think you’re confused. I think you’re pretending.
The difference between the fiction in a great novel and what an LLM spits out is that I am seeking it out in the former, not the latter. When an LLM does that, it is failing to do its job correctly.
Sure, but thanks for explaining what everyone already understands. You’re not clarifying anything new, you’re just pretending not to get the point so you can keep arguing. The discussion wasn’t about LLMs fixing cars or following recipes. It was about any kind of work, and a huge portion of human work revolves around invention, storytelling, and creative synthesis. Fiction writing isn’t a corner case, it’s one of the most valued human expressions of intelligence. Everyone knows that too. It’s not an obscure philosophical insight. It’s basic cultural literacy. Which is exactly why I don’t buy your act. You’re too smart not to know what’s obvious to everyone else.
So when I say the “failure mode” of hallucination can be a “success mode” elsewhere, I’m not dodging the topic, I’m expanding it. Creativity is a massive part of human life. Pretending otherwise just to win a narrow argument is dishonest. You know exactly what I meant, you’re just acting like you don’t. No one with normal cognitive function finds that bizarre. It’s theater.
And you used the classic tells, the same ones that get used on HN all the time to dodge the rules while still getting in a jab. You drop words like “bizarre” and “baffled,” act like you’re confused, then follow up with a calm “apology” to sound like the reasonable one. It’s a well known pattern here. You literally used the exact two words everyone does when they’re trying to provoke without crossing the line.
Then came the self deprecation. The polished restraint. “If that was too severe, my apologies. I tend to be a little dramatic. I don’t think you’re an idiot. I’m just trying to communicate my point. I’m sorry for that.” It’s spotless. It hits every note. It reads like empathy but functions like control. It doesn’t defuse the conflict, it reclaims the moral high ground. It’s not humility, it’s stagecraft.
Look, maybe I was too sharp myself. I can be dramatic too, I admit that. It’s not a personal attack, I just have strong feelings about intellectual honesty. I’m sorry for that.
I’m not trying to dodge anything and I’m not sure why there’s so much hostility here but sure we can go ahead and drop this. I made my point and retreading it isn’t going to do any good. Have a good rest of your week.
The difference between the fiction in a great novel and what an LLM spits out is that I am seeking it out in the former, not the latter. When an LLM does that, it is failing to do its job correctly.
Sure, but thanks for explaining what everyone already understands. You’re not clarifying anything new, you’re just pretending not to get the point so you can keep arguing. The discussion wasn’t about LLMs fixing cars or following recipes. It was about any kind of work, and a huge portion of human work revolves around invention, storytelling, and creative synthesis. Fiction writing isn’t a corner case, it’s one of the most valued human expressions of intelligence. Everyone knows that too. It’s not an obscure philosophical insight. It’s basic cultural literacy. Which is exactly why I don’t buy your act. You’re too smart not to know what’s obvious to everyone else.
So when I say the “failure mode” of hallucination can be a “success mode” elsewhere, I’m not dodging the topic, I’m expanding it. Creativity is a massive part of human life. Pretending otherwise just to win a narrow argument is dishonest. You know exactly what I meant, you’re just acting like you don’t. No one with normal cognitive function finds that bizarre. It’s theater.
And you used the classic tells, the same ones that get used on HN all the time to dodge the rules while still getting in a jab. You drop words like “bizarre” and “baffled,” act like you’re confused, then follow up with a calm “apology” to sound like the reasonable one. It’s a well known pattern here. You literally used the exact two words everyone does when they’re trying to provoke without crossing the line.
Then came the self deprecation. The polished restraint. “If that was too severe, my apologies. I tend to be a little dramatic. I don’t think you’re an idiot. I’m just trying to communicate my point. I’m sorry for that.” It’s spotless. It hits every note. It reads like empathy but functions like control. It doesn’t defuse the conflict, it reclaims the moral high ground. It’s not humility, it’s stagecraft.
Look, maybe I was too sharp myself. I can be dramatic too, I admit that. It’s not a personal attack, I just have strong feelings about intellectual honesty. I’m sorry for that.
See what I did there?
No point in continuing this.