Arithmetic Without Numbers – How LLMs Do Math

(alvaro-videla.com)

15 points | by old_sound 1 day ago

4 comments

  • iammjm 33 minutes ago
    Why doesn’t it just call tools such as Mathematica for such operations?
    • defrost 24 minutes ago
      This is more how an LLM thinks about math internally - an LLM version of drilled tables being used for mental arithmetic "as humans do".

      When humans stall on these tasks, they reach for pen and paper, a slide rule, a calculator, etc.

      Mathematica is overkill for arithmetic, in addition it's licenced and can cost a bit extra.

      If an LLM were to reach for a light cheap arithmetic tool something like bc would be a good first stop - a CLI tool with a language that supports arbitrary precision numbers with interactive execution of statements.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bc_(programming_language)

  • euroderf 1 hour ago
    The spirit of Rube Goldberg is alive and well.
  • silvestrov 1 hour ago
    This is a very nice and fresh page layout.
  • old_sound 1 day ago
    What happens inside an LLM when it tries to calculate with nothing but matrices.