I remember thinking at the time I read it “I don't know how anyone could understand this book without reading Jaynes first”.

Rather, how much of it is just language.

We went from completing words to completing sentences, paragraphs, essays, code files, pixel arrangements, music, and more just by aggregating and modeling all that in English.

I was amazed that predicting a word can emerge into knowledge, creativity, productivity - the stuff of thoughts.

It doesn’t happen to anyone (the thinking) but I think they still qualify as thoughts, just without a thinker.

You don't have to like it, but that's the theory that is being discussed.