Amplifying the Anomaly: How Humans Choose Unproven Options and Large Language Models Avoid Them

ABSTRACT

Both large language models (LLMs) and the human brain develop internal models of reality to make accurate predictions. Both typically prefer choices with the strongest track records. However, when faced with a creative challenge, LLMs remain committed to high-probability options while humans can opt for unproven ones. This paper delves into one way of making unlikely events plausible—“amplifying the anomaly.” The concept involves extrapolating viable consequences from an unlikely proposition. Rather than being treated as oddball events or “one-offs,” the anomaly permeates the creative work. Notably, novelty and appropriateness can be in tension with each other, with high utility coming at the cost of low novelty. Amplifying the anomaly aligns these competing demands. It enhances originality: the rarer a proposition and the more thoroughly it is worked out, the more unique and surprising the result. At the same time, the effectiveness and value of the unproven option also rises: thorough elaboration in the creative product establishes its fitness. Musical examples by Beethoven, Schubert, and contemporary composer Sky Macklay, along with creative products from other domains, illustrate this principle. Classic LLMs have several limitations that make it difficult to amplify the anomaly: they are steered toward norm-driven outcomes, make short-term decisions, and are not designed to self-evaluate. As a result, they have difficulty of developing unusual propositions in a non-obvious way without human guidance. Alternatives approaches, including adversarial networks and team AI, are briefly examined. Implications for the future of computational and human creativity are discussed.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Dr. Lisa Serice (Johns Hopkins University) for her valuable feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. A videorecorded performance by Tafelmusik is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSqzJnLBtec.

Timings of the musical examples are cued to this recording.

2. In Western tonal music, the key of a passage refers to the scale on which it is built. The “home” key refers to the primary key of a movement: a movement generally begins in that key and always ends there.

3. In Western tempered tuning, C-sharp and D-flat are enharmonically equivalent – they are two ways of naming the same pitch.

4. Camille Saint-Såens “Organ Symphony” offers a salient counter-example: for instance, in the second movement, the organ enters with a massive, fortissimo chord – something only an instrument of its vast dimensions can do.

5. A videorecorded performance by the Esme Quartet is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9One__hAjrI.

Timings of the musical examples are cued to this recording.

6. An audio recording with score by the Spektral Quartet is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrI39Nf7cj4.

Timings of the musical examples are cued to this recording.