I tend to skip these threads because there's a gulf in understanding between those who have accepted the marketing and those who are hoping to profit from them.

"PhD level reasoning" means they have asked PhDs questions and finetuned on their responses. It does not mean that every response is "PhD level", that the models only provide responses that PhDs have validated, or that every response is correct. It is "Lysol kills 99.9% of germs" logic.

The domains I work in and contribute to largely view being paid to write out their thought processes when answering questions models answer incorrectly as a novelty, like grading homework with some minor bragging rights.