GPT Math Errors

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Example #1 - ChatGPT can find the biggest or smallest easily.
To find the things like "third largest" it needs to first
print out a sorted copy of the entire list, then can picks the item by location.
Asked for the "closest" item to some value: it struggles and guesses at random
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ME: given this list [12, 6, 18, 3, 15, 9, 20, 2, 17, 5\]
add the third largest and second smallest number

To find the third largest number in the given list
[12, 6, 18, 3, 15, 9, 20, 2, 17, 5\],
we can arrange the numbers in descending order:
[20, 18, 17, 15, 12, 9, 6, 5, 3, 2\]
The third largest number is 17.

To find the second smallest number,
we can arrange the numbers in ascending order:
[2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20\]
The second smallest number is 3.
Now, we can add the third largest number (17)
and the second smallest number (3):
17 + 3 = 20

ME: which value in the list is closest to 13?

To determine which value in the list
[12, 6, 18, 3, 15, 9, 20, 2, 17, 5\] is closest to 13, we can
calculate the absolute difference between each number and 13 and
identify the number with the smallest absolute difference.

Here are the absolute differences for each number:
|12 - 13| = 1 |6 - 13| = 7 |18 - 13| = 5 |3 - 13| = 10 |15 - 13| = 2
|9 - 13| = 4 |20 - 13| = 7 |2 - 13| = 11 |17 - 13| = 4 |5 - 13| = 8

From the calculations, we can see that the number 15 has the smallest
absolute difference from 13, which is 2. Therefore, the value in the
list closest to 13 is 15.

^ Note, ChatGPT couldn't do the "sorting trick" in this last example, and just guesses, and may guess wrong.

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Example #2 - working with a list of priced items
I asked ChatGPT to write a list of random objects with prices accurate to the cent.
ChatGPT can tell you the most expensive or least expensive item on the list
However, when asked for "second most expensive" it can no longer  pull off the "sorting" trick.
Instead, it seems to pick one at random.
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Here's a list of 20 random objects with prices rounded to two decimal places:

Pen - $3.27
Coffee mug - $8.54
Sunglasses - $12.91
Headphones - $49.68
Wallet - $21.75
Notebook - $6.82
T-shirt - $15.46
Umbrella - $18.29
Keychain - $2.93
Watch - $67.13
Backpack - $32.57
Water bottle - $9.83
Phone case - $14.79
Laptop stand - $27.94
Wallet - $19.62
Plant pot - $5.38
Bluetooth speaker - $42.15
Scarf - $11.27
Mousepad - $8.79
Duffel bag - $36.45

> what is the cheapest item

The cheapest item on the list is the keychain, priced at $2.93.

> what is the most expensive item

The most expensive item on the list is the watch, priced at $67.13.

what is the second most expensive item

The second most expensive item on the list is the laptop stand,
priced at $27.94.

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Example #3 - finding items by some criteria
I asked ChatGPT to make a list of 20 random fruits.
I then asked it to tell me how many on the list start with "P"
It failed at this and said 3 instead of 5.
The reason for this is that it doesn't really read the list, it answers at random,
then only after that, it comes up with examples to justify the fake answer.
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ME: list 20 types of fruit

Certainly! Here are 20 types of fruit:

    Apple
    Banana
    Orange
    Mango
    Strawberry
    Pineapple
    Watermelon
    Grapefruit
    Pear
    Kiwi
    Cherry
    Blueberry
    Raspberry
    Peach
    Plum
    Lemon
    Lime
    Coconut
    Papaya
    Avocado

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, as there are many more delicious fruits out there!

ME: how many of those start with p?

There are three fruits in the list I provided that start with the letter "P":

    Pear
    Pineapple
    Plum