This work is current as of 2026-01-20. I am a researcher and I use 5.1 Thinking extensively in my work—not primarily as a summarizer or derivator, but as a tool for integration, for building links between ideas and extending frameworks.

I had a vague but persistent sense that 5.2 Thinking was currently worse than 5.1 Thinking for my particular use case, so I designed a small test. I created a conceptual framework, gave only the barebones specification to each model, and asked 5.2 Thinking, 5.1 Thinking, 5 Thinking, and 5.2 Instant to integrate and apply it.

All four models met the basic benchmarks of the test: they correctly reconstructed the structure and generated worked examples. However, 5.2 Thinking produced three worked examples, whereas 5.1 Thinking produced five, all still structurally faithful. For my purposes as a researcher, that extra breadth matters: 5.1 Thinking currently links ideas across more cases without drifting from the ontology I gave it.

Until 5.2 Thinking can match or surpass this kind of integrative performance, I think it is reasonable to say that 5.1 Thinking is not a “legacy” model in any meaningful sense. I will link the responses, the document I attached to get those responses, and the overarching framework so others can inspect or replicate the test.

Epistemic status: Small N, concrete but narrow test; I’m sharing because I haven’t seen many evaluations of integration rather than summarization.

I’d be interested in:

replications / variations on this kind of eval,
pushback if you think my criteria are wrong,
or alternative ways to formalize “integration ability” as a testable property.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sso9Cvf_TaVouICFrGyttwb6QLHdUM59/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YL79KNQwehXTmNaw0uEswMrJpEWjCCoy/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gm8qaUMiHF7qwh7miFFk7e6PVjgRRToo/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XqWyy7kbXlAVXIBX9arvOowViMeWFcEX/view?usp=sharing
I, as the author, assume full moral agency for this framework and for the results thereof.

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