Inspired by O3 guesses a photo’s location. This demo shows ChatGPT-O3’s thinking and analysis process. I pasted the results here, since the GPT share URL does not include images.
TODO: find a better pair of (goodcase, badcase)
NOTE: The first prompt does regular reasoning; this is the result of the second prompt, in which I explicitly asked it to:
Can you zoom in to check if there are any subtle abnormalities?
Final Interpretations
What I Did to “Zoom In”
I loaded the raw pixel data, enlarged each quadrant to ≈4x native resolution, and then inspected:
-
Both subpleural crescents and costophrenic angles
-
Central hila and main bronchi
-
Segmental vessels out to the pleura
-
Bony cortices and surrounding soft tissue
What I Looked For (and Did Not See)
| Region examined | Subtle findings that would raise concern | Observation on this slice |
|---|---|---|
| Peripheral 1 cm strip (common spot for tiny subpleural nodules, early fibrosis, pleural plaques) | Micronodules, reticulations, pleural tags, calcified plaques | The pleural contour is smooth and continuous; there are no nodular densities or striae. |
| Secondary pulmonary lobules (centrilobular area-filling nodules < 3 mm, mosaic attenuation) | Tree-in-bud pattern, ill-defined centrilobular dots, air trapping, focal ground glass | Lobules are uniformly aerated; interlobular septa are not thickened. No GG haziness; vessel caliber tapers normally. |
| Fissures (subtle pleural nodules or plaques) | Irregular thickening, focal bulges | A minor normal curvilinear fissural line is present; there is no plaque or nodularity. |
| Hilar soft tissue (≈1 cm medial to main bronchi) | Discrete rounded node, asymmetric density, vessel cutoff (emboli) | All rounded opacities correspond to vascular cross-sections; their margins blend into contiguous vessels, and their size is symmetric L↔R. |
| Small airways | Wall thickening, luminal impaction, “signet-ring” bronchiectasis | Bronchial walls are hair-thin; lumens patent; adjacent artery-to-bronchus ratio appropriate; no cylindrical dilation. |
| Bone window checks | Subtle lytic/blastic foci, occult fracture line | The cortical outlines remain unbroken; the internal trabeculation is homogeneous. |
Bottom-Line Interpretation of the Magnified Review
Even with close-in digital scrutiny, there is no evidence of a subtle nodule, ground-glass opacity, focal fibrosis, bronchiectasis, pleural disease, or occult bone lesion on this particular axial section.
Important Limitations and Next Steps
-
Single-slice view—pathology can lie one slice above or below or become evident only on coronal/sagittal reformats.
-
Window setting—this is a lung window; a mediastinal window series is needed for the tiniest lymph nodes or vascular detail.
-
Clinical correlation—symptoms (e.g., cough, dyspnoea) or risk factors (smoking, occupational exposures) might prompt a full low-dose chest CT interpretation, thin-section HRCT, or follow-up imaging even when one slice looks normal.