I think part of it is the feeling of false understanding that comes from using llms regularly. They let you operate at a higher conceptual level, and they paper over enough of the actual details that your conceptual model might not actually be correct.
I'm a mechanical engineer by training, and have similar vibes with the similarities I see between llm training and metallurgy. I could probably put together a formal concept for these vibes at this point, but is there actually a "there" there? I have no idea. And it would take me years to actually dive in and learn everything to gain the deep understanding that would be required to know if I'm just experiencing my own brand of AI psychosis or not.
It's a brave new world, that's for sure.
Andrej Karpathy said something along the lines of “while you can use llms to outsource some of your thinking, you can’t use them to outsource your understanding “.