REVIEW 3 major objections 5 minor 1 cited by
KAT to KANs: A Review of Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks and the Neural Leap Forward
T0 review · 3 major / 5 minor · reviewed 2026-08-12 · deepseek-v4-flash
Pith's one-line read KANs claim to break the curse of dimensionality
desk verdict A readable KAN primer whose central dimension-free claim does not follow from the cited theorem. read the letter →
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
The reading
What carries the argument
The central object is the Kolmogorov-Arnold representation theorem (KAT), which states that any continuous multivariate function on [0,1]^n can be written as a sum of outer univariate functions composed with sums of inner univariate functions: f(x) = Σ_{q=1}^{2n+1} Φ_q(Σ_{p=1}^n φ_{q,p}(x_p)). KANs turn this into a neural architecture by replacing fixed activations with learnable univariate functions approximated by B-splines. The theorem from Liu et al. is the load-bearing error bound: with B-spline order k and grid size G, the C^m error decays as C $G^{{-k-1+m}}$, independent of dimension, which is the source of the claimed curse-of-dimensionality freedom.
What would settle it
Construct a continuous function on [0,1]^n that is known not to admit a smooth KAT representation—for example, a function whose KAT components are fractal or discontinuous, such as the maximum of n variables—and train a KAN on it for increasing n. If the empirical error grows with n in a way that violates C $G^{{-k-1+m}}$ (e.g., requires exponentially more grid points), the claimed dimension-free bound fails.
Extended reading notes
Core claim
The paper's central claim is that KANs achieve true freedom from the curse of dimensionality. This rests on a theorem from Liu et al. stating that for any function admitting a KAN representation with (k+1)-times continuously differentiable B-spline components, the approximation error satisfies ||f - (Φ_{L-1}∘...∘Φ_0)x||_{C^m} ≤ C $G^{{-k-1+m}}$, where G is the grid size and C is a constant independent of the input dimension n. Because the error bound does not involve n, the review concludes that KANs can handle high-dimensional inputs without the exponential growth in data requirements that plagues standard neural networks. It further claims that KANs need fewer parameters and achieve better scaling exponents than MLPs, positioning them as a practical alternative for high-dimensional learning.
Load-bearing premise
The entire curse-of-dimensionality argument depends on the target function admitting a KAN representation with smooth B-spline components, and the review also assumes the underlying process has a higher-order polynomial expression; if the data contain discontinuities or lack such structure, the error bound and the freedom-from-curse conclusion collapse.
Editorial extensions
If this is right
- KANs could train on high-dimensional inputs without the exponential data growth that MLPs require, because the approximation error does not scale with input dimension.
- KANs may need far fewer parameters than MLPs to reach comparable accuracy, since each univariate function is directly parameterized by B-spline coefficients.
- The error bound suggests that increasing the B-spline grid size G is a controlled way to improve accuracy, unlike the unbounded neuron count N(ϵ) in the universal approximation theorem.
- KANs are best suited to problems where the target function is believed to have a smooth, polynomial-like structure; where that structure is absent, the guarantees do not apply.
Reading between the lines
- The curse-of-dimensionality freedom is conditional: for a given real-world dataset, one must first verify that the true mapping lies in the KAN function class. Without that verification, the error bound offers no practical guarantee, and empirical performance could degrade with dimension.
- A testable extension would be to compare KANs and MLPs on high-dimensional benchmark functions where the KAN representation condition is known to fail (e.g., functions with discontinuous or fractal KAT components) to see whether the claimed advantage disappears.
- The review's emphasis on polynomial structure suggests KANs may be especially useful in scientific computing and symbolic regression, where such structure is often assumed; the paper does not explore this connection explicitly.
Signed reviews
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper is a broad survey of Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KANs). It reviews interpolation, B-splines, perceptrons, the universal approximation theorem, the Kolmogorov-Arnold representation theorem, and the KAN architecture, and it argues from Theorem 1 of Liu et al. that KANs achieve 'true freedom from the curse of dimensionality.' It also claims that KANs require far fewer parameters and exhibit better scaling than MLPs. The manuscript contains no new derivations or experiments; its conclusions are drawn from cited work and from the authors' interpretation of the error bound.
Significance. If the advertised claim were valid, it would be a major result for high-dimensional learning, and the paper provides a reasonably accessible introduction to the mathematical ingredients of KANs. The pedagogical sections on splines and interpolation are clear, and the paper explicitly identifies the polynomial-structure assumption in Section 3, which is a useful caution. The paper also cites a broad set of recent KAN application papers. However, the central quantitative claim is not established: the quoted error bound does not control the dependence of the constant and grid size on the input dimension, and the paper leaves the unrelated-input question in Section 6 unanswered before repeating the strong conclusion in Section 7. The paper therefore overstates what the cited theorem supports.
major comments (3)
- [Abstract; Section 6, Theorem 1] The claim that Theorem 1 shows 'true freedom from the curse of dimensionality' is not supported by the stated bound. The bound ||f − (Φ_{L−1}∘...∘Φ_0)x||_{C^m} ≤ C G^{−k−1+m} only says that for a fixed f whose KAN representation has (k+1)-times continuously differentiable components, the error decreases as the spline grid G grows. It does not state that the constant C or the required G are independent of the input dimension n. A concrete example shows why this matters: f_n(x)=exp(x_1+...+x_n) is exactly representable by a KAN with Φ(t)=e^t on [0,n], but the B-spline error of approximating e^t on an interval of length n scales like e^n/G^{k+1} up to polynomial factors in n, so holding the error below ε forces G to grow exponentially in n. Thus the theorem, as quoted, is compatible with an exponential parameter/data requirement, and the Abstract's unconditional claim is not a consequence of it.
- [Sections 6 and 7] Section 6 raises the exact objection that would limit the curse-of-dimensionality claim: 'what happens when a model is trained with unrelated input and output features?' and asks whether the bound ε ≤ CG^{−k−1+m} still holds. No answer is given, and Section 7 then reasserts that KANs are promising for high-dimensional real-world tasks. This is load-bearing because Theorem 1 is conditional on f admitting a smooth KAN representation; an arbitrary mapping from unrelated features to labels need not satisfy that condition, so the error bound cannot be invoked for such tasks. The authors must either answer the question with a rigorous statement of the class of functions for which the bound holds, or explicitly restrict the conclusion to that class.
- [Sections 3 and 7] The paper's generalization from the theorem to practice relies on the assumption, introduced in Section 3, that 'the process we are trying to model has a higher-order polynomial expression.' Section 7 acknowledges that this structure 'can be challenging to prove' and proposes that it is 'reasonable to consider' whenever a polynomial form cannot be ruled out. That is not a verification: for image, video, or arbitrary regression tasks, there is no evidence that a KAN representation with smooth B-spline components exists. Without such evidence, the error bound does not apply and the claimed scalability advantages are not established. The conditional nature of the claim should be stated in the Abstract and Conclusion.
minor comments (5)
- [Equation (21)] Equation (21) states f : [0,1] → R, but the theorem applies to multivariate f : [0,1]^n → R; this is a typo that should be corrected.
- [Section 3.3] There are several typos, including 'the the rectified linear unit' in Section 3.3 and inconsistent capitalization 'KANS' in Section 6.
- [Figure 5 caption] The caption of Figure 5 says the B-spline interpolant manages to interpolate 'without needing any data,' which is misleading; the interpolant is constructed from the same 50 interpolation points used by the other methods.
- [References] The reference list relies heavily on Wikipedia entries for mathematical background (e.g., [16], [23]–[26], [29], [30]); for a formal review, primary sources would be more appropriate.
- [Section 2] The description of the Tschirnhaus transformation as reducing to 'n − 4 variables when n ≥ 7' is imprecise and is not used later in the paper; it should be rephrased or removed.
Circularity Check
No circular derivation; the main KAN claims are conditional on an externally stated representation theorem, with any overreach being a correctness concern rather than circularity.
full rationale
This review makes no fitted predictions and performs no derivation that reduces to its own inputs. The central claim that KANs are not subject to the curse of dimensionality is explicitly imported from Theorem 1 of Liu et al., an approximation bound for functions that admit a smooth KAN representation. The paper states the theorem's hypothesis verbatim ("Suppose that a function f(x) admits a representation f(x) = (Phi_(L-1) composed with ... Phi_0)x ... where each Phi_(l,i,j) are (k+1)-times continuously differentiable") and its conclusion is a concrete grid-size bound. The premise and conclusion are not identical: the premise is representability by smooth univariate compositions, and the conclusion is a B-spline approximation rate in G. The paper may overstate the theorem's scope by inferring dimension-independence from a bound whose constant C depends on f, but that is a correctness or support-level concern, not circularity. The paper also flags the representability assumption itself in Section 7 ("it can be challenging to prove this structure in any given system, it is often easier to disprove by identifying discontinuities"), acknowledging the conditional nature of the claim. No parameters are fitted, no known result is renamed, and no self-citation is load-bearing. Therefore no circular steps are present.
Assumptions & free parameters
assumptions (4)
- standard math Kolmogorov-Arnold representation theorem holds for all continuous multivariate functions on [0,1]^n with continuous univariate functions phi_{q,p} and continuous outer functions Phi_q.
- standard math Universal approximation theorem holds and provides approximation without specifying construction.
- domain assumption The modeled process has a higher-order polynomial structure, making KAT-based decomposition applicable.
- domain assumption Theorem 1 from Liu et al.: approximation error for KANs with k-th order B-splines on grid G is O(G^{-k-1+m}) independent of input dimension.
Cite this review
Pith. "Pith review of KAT to KANs: A Review of Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks and the Neural Leap Forward." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/R43LVNYB
@misc{pith2026241110622,
author = {Pith},
title = {Pith review of: KAT to KANs: A Review of Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks and the Neural Leap Forward},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/R43LVNYB}},
note = {Machine review of arXiv:2411.10622}
}
read the original abstract
The curse of dimensionality poses a significant challenge to modern multilayer perceptron-based architectures, often causing performance stagnation and scalability issues. Addressing this limitation typically requires vast amounts of data. In contrast, Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks have gained attention in the machine learning community for their bold claim of being unaffected by the curse of dimensionality. This paper explores the Kolmogorov-Arnold representation theorem and the mathematical principles underlying Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks, which enable their scalability and high performance in high-dimensional spaces. We begin with an introduction to foundational concepts necessary to understand Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks, including interpolation methods and Basis-splines, which form their mathematical backbone. This is followed by an overview of perceptron architectures and the Universal approximation theorem, a key principle guiding modern machine learning. This is followed by an overview of the Kolmogorov-Arnold representation theorem, including its mathematical formulation and implications for overcoming dimensionality challenges. Next, we review the architecture and error-scaling properties of Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks, demonstrating how these networks achieve true freedom from the curse of dimensionality. Finally, we discuss the practical viability of Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks, highlighting scenarios where their unique capabilities position them to excel in real-world applications. This review aims to offer insights into Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks' potential to redefine scalability and performance in high-dimensional learning tasks.
Figures
Figures from the paper (4 more)
Forward citations
Cited by 1 Pith paper
-
FORTRESS: Function-composition Optimized Real-Time Resilient Structural Segmentation via Kolmogorov-Arnold Enhanced Spatial Attention Networks
FORTRESS combines depthwise separable convolutions and a gated Kolmogorov-Arnold module to report F1 of 0.771 and mIoU of 0.677 on the CSDD benchmark, but the core KAN contribution is not isolated by ablation.
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
Kan: Kolmogorov-arnold networks
Ziming Liu, Yixuan Wang, Sachin Vaidya, Fabian Ruehle, James Halverson, Marin Soljaˇci´c, Thomas Y Hou, and Max Tegmark. Kan: Kolmogorov-arnold networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.19756, 2024
arXiv 2024
-
[2]
The kolmogorov–arnold representation theorem revisited
Johannes Schmidt-Hieber. The kolmogorov–arnold representation theorem revisited. Neural Networks, 2021
work page 2021
-
[3]
Kolmogorov’s gate non-linearity as a step toward much smaller artificial neural networks
Stanislav Selitskiy. Kolmogorov’s gate non-linearity as a step toward much smaller artificial neural networks. In Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2022) , Luton, U.K.,
work page 2022
-
[4]
Vaca-Rubio, Luis Blanco, Roberto Pereira, and Màrius Caus
Cristian J. Vaca-Rubio, Luis Blanco, Roberto Pereira, and Màrius Caus. Kolmogorov-arnold networks (kans) for time series analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.08790, 2024. Submitted on 14 May 2024, last revised 25 Sep 2024 (this version, v2)
arXiv 2024
-
[5]
Tkan: Temporal kolmogorov-arnold networks
Remi Genet and Hugo Inzirillo. Tkan: Temporal kolmogorov-arnold networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.07344,
-
[6]
Demonstrating the efficacy of kolmogorov-arnold networks in vision tasks
Minjong Cheon. Demonstrating the efficacy of kolmogorov-arnold networks in vision tasks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.14916, 2024. Submitted on 21 Jun 2024
arXiv 2024
-
[7]
Kan or mlp: A fairer comparison.arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.16674,
Runpeng Yu, Weihao Yu, and Xinchao Wang. Kan or mlp: A fairer comparison.arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.16674,
-
[8]
Wav-kan: Wavelet kolmogorov-arnold networks
Zavareh Bozorgasl and Hao Chen. Wav-kan: Wavelet kolmogorov-arnold networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.12832, 2024. Submitted on 21 May 2024, last revised 27 May 2024 (this version, v2)
arXiv 2024
Show all 36 references
-
[9]
Kan 2.0: Kolmogorov-arnold networks meet science
Ziming Liu, Pingchuan Ma, Yixuan Wang, Wojciech Matusik, and Max Tegmark. Kan 2.0: Kolmogorov-arnold networks meet science. arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.10205, 2024. 27 pages, 14 figures
2024 arXiv
-
[10]
Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[11]
Howard, Bruno Jacob, Sarah H
Amanda A. Howard, Bruno Jacob, Sarah H. Murphy, Alexander Heinlein, and Panos Stinis. Finite basis kolmogorov-arnold networks: Domain decomposition for data-driven and physics-informed problems. arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.19662, 2024. Submitted on 28 Jun 2024
2024
-
[12]
Kanqas: Kolmogorov-arnold network for quantum architecture search
Akash Kundu, Aritra Sarkar, and Abhishek Sadhu. Kanqas: Kolmogorov-arnold network for quantum architecture search. arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.17630, 2024. Submitted on 25 Jun 2024, last revised 22 Jul 2024 (this version, v2)
2024 arXiv
-
[13]
Koenig, Suyong Kim, and Sili Deng
Benjamin C. Koenig, Suyong Kim, and Sili Deng. Kan-odes: Kolmogorov–arnold network ordinary differential equations for learning dynamical systems and hidden physics. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 432, Part A:117397, 2024
2024
-
[14]
Mathematical Problems
David Hilbert. Mathematical Problems. Chapman and Hall/CRC, 1st edition, 1984
1984
-
[15]
Mathematische Annalen, volume 97
David Hilbert, Albert Einstein, Otto Blumenthal, and Constantin Carathéodory, editors. Mathematische Annalen, volume 97. Verlag von Julius Springer, Berlin, 1927. Founded by Alfred Clebsch and Carl Neumann; continued by Felix Klein, with contributions by Ludwig Bieberbach, Har...
1927
-
[16]
Samadi, Younes Müller, and Andreas Schuppert
Moein E. Samadi, Younes Müller, and Andreas Schuppert. Smooth kolmogorov arnold networks enabling structural knowledge representation. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.11318, 2024
2024 arXiv
-
[17]
The Mathematical Writings of Évariste Galois
Évariste Galois. The Mathematical Writings of Évariste Galois. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1962. Translated and edited by Peter M. Neumann
1962
-
[18]
Kolmogorov
Andrey N. Kolmogorov. On the representation of continuous functions of several variables by superpositions of continuous functions of one variable and addition. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR , 114:953–956, 1957. Translated in *American Mathematical Society Translations*, Series 2...
1957
-
[19]
Kolmogorov–arnold representation theorem, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. Kolmogorov–arnold representation theorem, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[20]
Suitability of kans for computer vision: A preliminary investigation
Basim Azam and Naveed Akhtar. Suitability of kans for computer vision: A preliminary investigation. School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne , 2024. Email: {basim.azam, naveed.akhtar1}@unimelb.edu.au
2024
-
[21]
A comprehensive survey on kolmogorov arnold networks (kan)
Yuntian Hou, Di Zhang, Jinheng Wu, and Xiaohang Feng. A comprehensive survey on kolmogorov arnold networks (kan). arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.11075v1, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28. 12 Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KANs): A Review
2024 arXiv
-
[22]
Vladimir I. Arnold. On functions of three variables. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR, 114:679–681, 1958. Extended Kolmogorov’s theorem to higher dimensions; translated in *American Mathematical Society Translations*, Series 2, V ol. 28, pp. 59–61, 1963
1958
-
[23]
Interpolation, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. Interpolation, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[24]
Polynomial interpolation, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. Polynomial interpolation, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[25]
Burden and J
Richard L. Burden and J. Douglas Faires. Numerical Analysis. Brooks Cole, Boston, 9th edition, 2010. Covers Lagrange and Newton interpolation, spline interpolation, and error estimates
2010
-
[26]
B-spline, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. B-spline, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[27]
A Practical Guide to Splines
Carl de Boor. A Practical Guide to Splines . Springer-Verlag, New York, revised edition edition, 2001. Covers B-splines, spline interpolation, and computational aspects
2001
-
[28]
Spline interpolation, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. Spline interpolation, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[29]
Perceptron, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. Perceptron, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[30]
Universal approximation theorem, 2024
Wikipedia contributors. Universal approximation theorem, 2024. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2024
-
[31]
Deep Learning
Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville. Deep Learning. MIT Press, 2016. Covers perceptron architectures, activation functions, and the theoretical foundations of neural networks
2016
-
[32]
A neural scaling law from the dimension of the data manifold
Utkarsh Sharma and Jared Kaplan. A neural scaling law from the dimension of the data manifold. arXiv preprint arXiv:2004.10802, 2020. Accessed: 2024-10-28
2004 arXiv
-
[33]
Andrew R. Barron. Universal approximation bounds for superpositions of a sigmoidal function.IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 39(3):930–945, 1993. 13
1993
-
[34]
Approximation by superpositions of a sigmoidal function
George Cybenko. Approximation by superpositions of a sigmoidal function. Mathematics of Control, Signals and Systems, 2(4):303–314, 1989
1989
-
[2022]
University of Bedfordshire, School of Computer Science and Technology
-
[2024]
Submitted on 12 May 2024, last revised 5 Jun 2024 (this version, v2)
2024
Reviewed August 12, 2026 · model on record in the stance chip above.
Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.