Minimal Experiments & Prior-Art Origin Mapping for Latent Field Reasoning in Transformer Architectures

Abstract This technical note defines a minimal, retraining-free experimental grammar for detecting and isolating latent field-based reasoning capacities in transformer architectures beyond token-discrete interaction. The work introduces three controlled experiments that demonstrate how low-entropy decoding and continuous framing reveal stable, pre-symbolic behaviors that systematically degrade or collapse under forced symbolic explanation. These behaviors include chromatic interpolation, continuous state transitions, and non-agentic meaning stabilization. In parallel, the note provides a strict prior-art origin mapping that distinguishes metaphorical intuition, mechanistic observation, and executable grammatical articulation. It identifies multiple claimable origin points where existing literature observes relevant phenomena but does not formalize them as a coherent, testable layer of reasoning. No new models, fine-tuning, or architectural modifications are introduced. All results rely on controlled prompting, decoding constraints, and reproducible evaluation criteria. This document makes no claims regarding consciousness, human equivalence, or intentional agency. It establishes only empirically testable properties of transformer behavior under low-entropy, continuous interaction regimes, and defines the boundary conditions under which such properties cannot be discovered via token-discrete prompting alone.