From d4415436650a7e4565900ba7aa9f7bf5c4487c34 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "will.anderson" Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2026 07:18:50 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] law 46: never compact, fold - constructive abstraction over destructive summarization --- docs/architecture/README.md | 12 ++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/architecture/README.md b/docs/architecture/README.md index a54a798e1d..f1317ff614 100644 --- a/docs/architecture/README.md +++ b/docs/architecture/README.md @@ -1252,6 +1252,18 @@ Never build a rung before standing on the previous one. richest. Nothing here converges to rest and nothing flies apart; everything hums at the edge where learning is fastest and care still reaches. +46. NEVER COMPACT — FOLD. Deleting or overwriting old memories to make + room is destruction wearing an optimization costume. Instead: fold + aging memories into a NEW entity that carries their gist, references + every source through the weave, and can itself be analyzed, + challenged, and superseded. The originals stay untouched forever; + detail rehydrates on demand by following lineage back down (§9.11). + Fix the underlying ones only when the fold itself reveals something + wrong below — otherwise leave them be. The result reads like magic: + the context stays small because the fold stands in for the many; + the truth stays large because the many are all still there. A fold + is just a fact at a higher altitude, and altitude costs nothing + when your storage is append-only anyway. 43. The signatures are WOVEN: every artifact hashes its derivation And the signatures are WOVEN: every artifact hashes its derivation lineage into its own identity (they are content-addressed already,