{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7139961794","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","title":"Cognitive Mismatch in Multimodal Large Language Models for Discrete Symbol Understanding","display_name":"Cognitive Mismatch in Multimodal Large Language Models for Discrete Symbol Understanding","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-03-19","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7139961794","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5130246927","display_name":"Yinghui Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Yinghui","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5130234867","display_name":"Jiayi Kuang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Kuang, Jiayi","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5130218889","display_name":"Peng Xing","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Xing, Peng","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5045343174","display_name":"Daixian Liu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9553-3453"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Liu, Daixian","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Zhang, Yongheng","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhang, Yongheng","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Dong, Junnan","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Dong, Junnan","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5130248731","display_name":"Yangning Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Guo, Shu-Yu","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5052503472","display_name":"Qingyu Zhou","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4389-1582"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Yangning","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Zhou, Qingyu","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhou, Qingyu","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Jiang, Wenhao","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Jiang, Wenhao","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Zheng, Hai-Tao","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zheng, Hai-Tao","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Shen, Ying","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Shen, Ying","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5130246810","display_name":"Philip S. Yu","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Lin, Liang","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Yu, Philip S.","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yu, Philip S.","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":0,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11714","display_name":"Multimodal Machine Learning Applications","score":0.3747999966144562,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11714","display_name":"Multimodal Machine Learning Applications","score":0.3747999966144562,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12090","display_name":"Language and cultural evolution","score":0.13169999420642853,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3316","display_name":"Cultural Studies"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/33","display_name":"Social Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11948","display_name":"Machine Learning in Materials Science","score":0.07450000196695328,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2505","display_name":"Materials Chemistry"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/25","display_name":"Materials Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/counterintuitive","display_name":"Counterintuitive","score":0.7153000235557556},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/symbol","display_name":"Symbol (formal)","score":0.6668000221252441},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/cognition","display_name":"Cognition","score":0.5378000140190125},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/process","display_name":"Process (computing)","score":0.49779999256134033},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/natural-language","display_name":"Natural language","score":0.4661000072956085},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/visual-reasoning","display_name":"Visual reasoning","score":0.4401000142097473},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computational-model","display_name":"Computational model","score":0.38019999861717224},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/semantics","display_name":"Semantics (computer science)","score":0.37070000171661377}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C101097943","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5176983","display_name":"Counterintuitive","level":2,"score":0.7153000235557556},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C134400042","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2372244","display_name":"Symbol (formal)","level":2,"score":0.6668000221252441},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6406999826431274},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C169900460","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2200417","display_name":"Cognition","level":2,"score":0.5378000140190125},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C98045186","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q205663","display_name":"Process (computing)","level":2,"score":0.49779999256134033},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C195324797","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33742","display_name":"Natural language","level":2,"score":0.4661000072956085},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777508537","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7936620","display_name":"Visual reasoning","level":2,"score":0.4401000142097473},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.42969998717308044},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C188147891","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q147638","display_name":"Cognitive science","level":1,"score":0.42089998722076416},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C66024118","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1122506","display_name":"Computational model","level":2,"score":0.38019999861717224},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C184337299","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1437428","display_name":"Semantics (computer science)","level":2,"score":0.37070000171661377},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C204321447","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30642","display_name":"Natural language processing","level":1,"score":0.36010000109672546},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C175475021","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1483324","display_name":"Iconicity","level":2,"score":0.30300000309944153},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776608160","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4785462","display_name":"Natural (archaeology)","level":2,"score":0.2985999882221222},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780878386","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1659648","display_name":"Visual language","level":2,"score":0.29679998755455017},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C185798385","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1161707","display_name":"Benchmark (surveying)","level":2,"score":0.2919999957084656},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779439875","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1078276","display_name":"Natural language understanding","level":3,"score":0.2806999981403351},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115086926","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17004651","display_name":"Causal reasoning","level":3,"score":0.2745000123977661},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2983448237","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1078276","display_name":"Language understanding","level":2,"score":0.271699994802475},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2986342778","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Cognitive systems","level":3,"score":0.2689000070095062}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2603.18472","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/4","display_name":"Quality Education","score":0.7924802303314209}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Multimodal":[0],"large":[1],"language":[2],"models":[3],"(MLLMs)":[4],"perform":[5],"strongly":[6],"on":[7,60,68],"natural":[8],"images,":[9],"yet":[10],"their":[11],"ability":[12],"to":[13],"understand":[14],"discrete":[15,139],"visual":[16,93],"symbols":[17,103],"remains":[18,121],"unclear.":[19],"We":[20],"present":[21],"a":[22,53,122],"multi-domain":[23],"benchmark":[24],"spanning":[25],"language,":[26],"culture,":[27],"mathematics,":[28],"physics":[29],"and":[30,38,41,43,45,112,128,131],"chemistry,":[31],"organized":[32],"into":[33],"three":[34],"cognitive":[35,55],"levels:":[36],"perception":[37,137],"recognition,":[39],"combination":[40],"reasoning,":[42],"association":[44],"critical":[46],"thinking.":[47],"Across":[48],"leading":[49],"MLLMs,":[50],"we":[51],"observe":[52],"consistent":[54],"mismatch.":[56],"Models":[57],"frequently":[58],"underperform":[59],"elementary":[61],"symbol":[62],"recognition":[63],"while":[64],"appearing":[65],"relatively":[66],"competent":[67],"more":[69],"complex":[70],"reasoning":[71,89],"tasks.":[72],"This":[73],"recognition-reasoning":[74],"inversion":[75],"indicates":[76],"that":[77,118,134],"current":[78],"systems":[79],"often":[80],"compensate":[81],"with":[82],"linguistic":[83],"priors,":[84],"template":[85],"retrieval":[86],"or":[87],"procedural":[88],"instead":[90],"of":[91],"robust":[92],"grounding.":[94],"The":[95],"pattern":[96],"is":[97],"especially":[98],"clear":[99],"for":[100,125],"sparse,":[101],"low-redundancy":[102],"such":[104],"as":[105],"handwritten":[106],"characters,":[107],"formula":[108],"graphs,":[109],"circuit":[110],"diagrams":[111],"chemical":[113],"structures.":[114],"These":[115],"results":[116],"show":[117],"symbolic":[119],"understanding":[120],"major":[123],"bottleneck":[124],"multimodal":[126],"intelligence":[127],"motivate":[129],"training":[130],"evaluation":[132],"schemes":[133],"prioritize":[135],"grounded":[136],"in":[138],"semantic":[140],"spaces.":[141]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-01T06:00:48.157686","created_date":"2026-03-21T00:00:00"}
