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docs: improve biological inspirations section in compression.md
- Soften SWS/REM sleep analogy: clarify it is functional, not mechanistic
- Add Multiple Trace Theory caveat to the Standard Consolidation Model diagram
- Fix hippocampus/neocortex roles in Section 1 (neocortex holds compressed form)
- Remove anthropomorphising language in Section 3
- Rename Section 5 from 'Metacognition' to 'Deliberate Belief Revision'
- Add hypothesis caveat to convergence claim in intro paragraph
- Update diagram label from 'deeper sleep' to 'later consolidation'
Co-Authored-By: bpsa2 <241537330+bpsa2@users.noreply.github.com>
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@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ The entire two-phase design mirrors the **Standard Model of Memory Consolidation
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Experience → Hippocampus (short-lived, detailed)
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↓ (sleep / Phase 1)
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Compressed replay → early neocortex
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↓ (deeper sleep / Phase 2)
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↓ (later consolidation / Phase 2)
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Abstract semantic knowledge → late neocortex
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↓
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Hippocampus no longer needed for retrieval
@@ -35,11 +35,17 @@ Replace hippocampus with "action steps", early neocortex with "CompressedHistory
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late neocortex with "knowledge store" — and you have BPSA's compression pipeline almost
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exactly.
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> *Note: the Standard Model's claim that the hippocampus becomes unnecessary for retrieval
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> is contested by Multiple Trace Theory (Nadel & Moscovitch, 1997), which argues the
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> hippocampus remains involved in detailed episodic retrieval indefinitely. BPSA's
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> architecture — which does eventually discard original steps — maps onto the Standard
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> Model regardless of which biological theory proves correct.*
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---
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### 1. Working Memory vs. Long-Term Memory
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***BPSA:** Recent steps are kept in **full detail** (`keep_recent_steps`). Older steps are compressed into summaries.
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***Human mind:** The **prefrontal cortex** holds a small working memory buffer (~7±2 items, Miller 1956) in full resolution. Older experiences are consolidated and compressed by the hippocampus over time.
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***Human mind:** The **prefrontal cortex** holds a small working memory buffer (~7±2 items, Miller 1956) in full resolution. Older experiences are consolidated over time: the hippocampus holds the initial detailed trace and orchestrates its gradual transfer to the neocortex, where a compressed, generalised form eventually lives independently.
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> *"Keep 40 recent steps in full" is literally what your brain does right now — you remember today in detail, last Tuesday as a blur.*
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@@ -55,7 +61,7 @@ exactly.
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### 3. Episodic vs. Semantic Memory
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***BPSA:**`CompressedHistoryStep` = what happened (events, actions taken). `knowledge` store = what is currently true (facts, beliefs, current state).
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***Human mind:****Episodic memory** = "I did X at time T." **Semantic memory** = "X is true." The brain explicitly separates these. Old episodic memories gradually convert to semantic ones — exactly what Phase 2 does.
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***Human mind:****Episodic memory** = "I did X at time T." **Semantic memory** = "X is true." Neuroscience has identified these as distinct systems with different neural substrates. Old episodic memories gradually convert to semantic ones — exactly what Phase 2 does.
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> *"Compressed history = events/changes over time; knowledge = current beliefs/facts" — this is straight from cognitive psychology textbooks.*
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