People say LLMs “learn patterns.”
But the truth is more radical:
LLMs learn human expectations about patterns.
They model:
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what we expect a story to do
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how we expect an explanation to unfold
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where we expect uncertainty to appear
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which emotional tone fits which situation
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how arguments evolve
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how contradictions resolve
Patterns aren’t statistical artifacts —
they’re cognitive blueprints.
And because LLMs learn from humans,
they inherit our:
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shortcuts
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assumptions
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biases
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emotional defaults
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conceptual rhythms
To optimize for AI interpretation, content must respect these cognitive expectations while remaining distinct enough to form an identifiable pattern.
The model doesn’t just read your words.
It reconstructs the mind it thinks produced them.