# Can Transformers Learn to Solve Problems Recursively?

Authors: Shizhuo Dylan Zhang, Curt Tigges, Stella Biderman, Maxim Raginsky, Talia Ringer.

Tests whether transformers learn recursive procedures and generalize beyond training depth.

First public: 2023-05-24.
ArXiv initial submission: 2023-05-24.

[Original paper](https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.14699) · [Reading-list entry](https://latent-implicit-thinking.github.io/papers/2305.14699/)
[Preprint BibTeX](https://latent-implicit-thinking.github.io/papers/2305.14699/citation.bib) · [Preprint CSL-JSON](https://latent-implicit-thinking.github.io/papers/2305.14699/citation.csl.json) · [JSON record](https://latent-implicit-thinking.github.io/papers/2305.14699/record.json)

Summary and categories are editorial. Read the original paper to verify claims and limitations. A citation to a paper does not, by itself, establish that a later method builds on it.

Reading-list version 0.9.5; literature checked through 2026-10-18.