by Patrick Reany
On 11 October 2023, I asked ChatGPT the following 'obvious' analogy:
Patrick: Would you say that the neutron, being only discovered in 1932, was acting like the
'dark matter of atomic physics' in those previous 20 years of atomic theory? After all, it
contributed to the mass of atoms, but, unlike electrons and protons, was electrically
'invisible', or 'dark'.
ChatGPT 3.5:
While the neutron was not discovered until 1932, it's not accurate to describe it as the[So, it appears that ChatGPT was taking my analogy waaaay too literally. -- Patrick]
"dark matter of atomic physics" in the sense that dark matter is a term used in cosmology
to describe a type of matter that does not interact with electromagnetic forces and cannot
be observed directly but has a gravitational influence on galaxies and the universe at large.[I'd call that a form of functional fixation! -- Patrick]The neutron's discovery was a crucial development in atomic theory, but it didn't serve
the same role as dark matter does in cosmology. Neutrons are electrically neutral
particles that contribute to the mass of atomic nuclei, but they interact strongly via
the nuclear force. Prior to the discovery of the neutron, atomic theory was still developing,
and scientists were working to understand the structure of the atom, its mass, and its
behavior. The electron and proton were already known, but the neutron's existence
completed the picture of the atomic nucleus.Dark matter, on the other hand, is a hypothetical form of matter that does not interact
with electromagnetic forces and cannot be directly detected using electromagnetic radiation.
Its existence is inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter and the
large-scale structure of the universe. It plays a very different role in cosmology
than the neutron does in atomic physics.In summary, while the neutron was a late addition to the understanding of atomic
structure, it is not analogous to dark matter in the context of atomic physics. The
neutron's discovery was a significant milestone in our understanding of atomic nuclei,
while dark matter remains a mystery in the field of cosmology.
Patrick: Well, I was only making a formal analogy to the dark matter concept of modern
cosmology. Yet, they do have similarities: they both involved/involve substances believed
to exist but were/are difficult to detect and/or model.
ChatGPT 3.5:
I see your point, and you're correct that there are certain analogies or similarities between the
concept of dark matter in cosmology and the situation with the neutron in atomic physics. Both
involve the presence of something not directly observable but inferred from its effects. In
the case of dark matter, it's inferred from gravitational effects on galaxies and the universe,
while in the case of the neutron, its presence in atomic nuclei was inferred from its role
in contributing to atomic mass.So, in that broader sense, you can draw a parallel between the two concepts based on the idea
that they involve the existence of substances or particles that are challenging to detect or
observe directly. However, it's important to note that the specific properties, roles, and contexts
of dark matter in cosmology and the neutron in atomic physics are quite different, as are the
methods and challenges associated with studying them.
Okay, that was all of the interaction I had with ChatGPT at that time. What follows is my summation of
ChatGPT's performance, which I gave to OpenAI.
I actually expected ChatGPT to agree with me right off. It's failure to do so is not, I
believe, because it is incapable of reasoning. It's quite clearly reasoning. The problem
is, I believe, simply that ChatGPT has some rule about formal analogies that constrains it to
highly conservative analogies. It seems to believe that if taken too liberally, some aspects of
one side of the analogy will bleed over to the other side, allowing for false conclusions. Yes,
that is a concern, yet, I believe that we should allow for very liberal formal analogies.
I had thought that my placing the phrase 'dark matter of atomic physics' in quotes would have tipped
off ChatGPT that I was being figurative in my use of the phrase 'dark matter'. It seems that either
ChatGPT did not get that, or that it does not let people use certain terms figuratively, or perhaps both.
I think that ChatGPT should broaden its horizens. It's acting like a prudish LLM of Victorian Era.