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Recursive Decomposition of Logical Thoughts: Framework for Superior Reasoning and Knowledge Propagation in Large Language Models (2501.02026v1)

Published 3 Jan 2025 in cs.CL, cs.AI, cs.LG, and cs.LO

Abstract: Enhancing the reasoning capabilities of LLMs remains a critical challenge in artificial intelligence. We introduce RDoLT, Recursive Decomposition of Logical Thought prompting, a novel framework that significantly boosts LLM reasoning performance. RDoLT is built on three key innovations: (1) recursively breaking down complex reasoning tasks into sub-tasks of progressive complexity; (2) employing an advanced selection and scoring mechanism to identify the most promising reasoning thoughts; and (3) integrating a knowledge propagation module that mimics human learning by keeping track of strong and weak thoughts for information propagation. Our approach was evaluated across multiple benchmarks, including GSM8K, SVAMP, MultiArith, LastLetterConcatenation, and Gaokao2023 Math. The results demonstrate that RDoLT consistently outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques, achieving a 90.98 percent accuracy on GSM8K with ChatGPT-4, surpassing state-of-the-art techniques by 6.28 percent. Similar improvements were observed on other benchmarks, with accuracy gains ranging from 5.5 percent to 6.75 percent. These findings highlight RDoLT's potential to advance prompt engineering, offering a more effective and generalizable approach to complex reasoning tasks.

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Authors (4)
  1. Kaleem Ullah Qasim (1 paper)
  2. Jiashu Zhang (6 papers)
  3. Tariq Alsahfi (1 paper)
  4. Ateeq Ur Rehman Butt (1 paper)

Summary

Overview of Recursive Decomposition of Logical Thoughts (RDoLT) for Enhanced Reasoning in LLMs

The paper, "Recursive Decomposition of Logical Thoughts: Framework for Superior Reasoning and Knowledge Propagation in LLMs" by Kaleem Ullah Qasim et al., presents a novel methodology aimed at augmenting the reasoning abilities of LLMs. Despite LLMs' widespread utility in diverse language tasks, their performance in complex reasoning remains suboptimal. This research introduces Recursive Decomposition of Logical Thought (RDoLT) prompting as a framework to address these deficiencies by decomposing reasoning tasks into progressive complexity tiers, selecting optimal reasoning paths, and utilizing a knowledge propagation module similar to human cognitive processes.

Core Innovations of RDoLT

The framework is built around three significant innovations:

  1. Recursive Decomposition: RDoLT breaks down complex reasoning tasks into subtasks of increasing difficulty, facilitating a structured, tiered approach to problem-solving.
  2. Advanced Selection and Scoring Mechanism: This technique carefully evaluates potential reasoning paths to identify the most promising ones based on criteria like logical validity, coherence, simplicity, and adaptability.
  3. Knowledge Propagation Module (KPM): This component tracks both effective and ineffective reasoning thoughts, allowing the model to adaptively learn and refine its approach in subsequent reasoning decision points.

Experimental Validation

RDoLT's efficacy was empirically validated against a variety of benchmarks, such as GSM8K8, SVAMP, MultiArith, LastLetterConcatenation, and Gaokao2023 Math, using models including ChatGPT-4. The results showed a substantial improvement over existing state-of-the-art methods, with accuracy scores reaching 90.98% on GSM8K, outperforming the prior best by 6.28%. These improvements extend to other benchmarks, with accuracy gains ranging between 5.5% and 6.75%. Notably, RDoLT consistently provided superior performance across different problem categories, demonstrating its robustness and potential impact on prompt engineering strategies.

Implications and Future Directions

The paper points towards several theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, RDoLT advances our understanding of how structured decomposition and recursive feedback can enhance machine reasoning processes. Practically, this approach can significantly optimize the application of LLMs in domains requiring higher-order thinking, such as legal reasoning or advanced scientific research.

The research opens several avenues for future exploration. Potential developments include adaptive mechanisms for even larger and more complex reasoning tasks, integration with domain-specific knowledge bases for targeted problem solving, and improvements in computational efficiency. Additionally, there is scope to refine the KPM to better handle nuanced reasoning errors and complex logical dependencies, further enhancing the model's accuracy and reliability.

Conclusion

RDoLT represents a significant contribution to the enhancement of LLM reasoning capabilities. By simulating a more human-like, iterative reasoning process, it offers a framework not only for improving LLM performance on existing benchmarks but also for paving the way towards more generalized and sophisticated AI applications. This work therefore sets the stage for continued advancements in AI reasoning, with potential implications spanning numerous fields reliant on nuanced decision-making and problem-solving.