The Prior Probability of Gorilla

My prompt:

Generate a short story titled "The Prior Probability of Gorilla."

From Anil Seth's "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness":

"Unless you happen to be in a zoo, the prior probability of ‘gorilla’ will be very low when you first catch a glimpse of something indistinctly dark and furry in the distance. Because whatever-it-is is far away, the estimated reliability of this visual input will also be low, so that your perceptual best guess is unlikely to settle immediately on ‘gorilla’. But as the animal gets closer, visual signals become both more reliable and more informative, so that your brain’s best guesses will move through a series of options – large black dog, man in gorilla suit, actual gorilla – until you confidently perceive the gorilla, hopefully still with enough time to run away."

Begin by listing six very different story ideas (with short descriptions) all involving academics or researchers (broadly defined). Then pick one of those ideas and expand it to a full publishable story.

The plot should not be reducible to a cliché. Avoid direct references to gorillas and Seth.

No strained metaphors.

No dialogue.

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Responses: Claude Sonnet 4.5, GPT-5.2 Thinking