Medium Article: https://medium.com/@jsmith0475/exotic-reasoning-a-topological-framework-for-understanding-emergent-intelligence-in-large-language-f76eefbae209

The author, Dr. Jerry A. Smith, introduces the Exotic Reasoning Conjecture, a theoretical framework that posits that emergent intelligence in large language models is rooted in high-dimensional topology. Dr. Jerry A. Smith suggests that instead of gradual improvement, scaling allows models to suddenly access exotic manifolds—reasoning paths that are logically equivalent to standard logic but geometrically disconnected. The author draws a parallel to Milnor’s exotic spheres, arguing that some cognitive transformations require "corners" or discontinuities that current linear transformer architectures may struggle to navigate. Consequently, the paper posits that achieving true general intelligence might require diverse computational mechanisms, such as diffusion or spiking networks, to explore these isolated geometric territories. Ultimately, the source frames the future of AI not just as a matter of scale, but as a challenge of mapping a complex landscape of unreachable reasoning structures.