{"schema_version":1,"experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp03_full320_20260801","cell_id":"layer_decay_and_expiration_management__information_theory","trajectory_id":"R","attempt_index":0,"archetype_slug":"layer_decay_and_expiration_management","domain_slug":"information_theory","decision":"CANDIDATE","problem_id":"historical_codebook_version_accumulation","causal_lever_id":"reference_gated_codebook_tiering_and_expiration","proposal":{"problem":"Adaptive compression or communication systems can accumulate obsolete codebook, dictionary, probability-model, and decoder versions. Leaving every version active increases registry cost and the chance that an encoder, decoder, or operator selects an incompatible version; deleting an old version can make previously encoded data undecodable. This is a lifecycle problem distinct from designing a better code.","actors_substrate":["encoder and decoder operators","codebook or model registry","encoded datasets and message archives","owners of retained information","compliance and reproducibility reviewers"],"observable_state":"Per-version creation and supersession time, active encoding eligibility, encoded-object reference count, recent access, storage tier, hold status, restore-test result, and decode success are observable. HYPOTHESIS: some deployments lack a complete mapping from encoded objects to the exact historical decoding scheme they require.","consequence":"Unbounded active registries consume storage and attention and permit decoder mismatch, while unsafe cleanup can permanently destroy access to historical information.","affected_objective":"Minimize active-registry burden and mismatch risk subject to reliable decoding, auditability, reproducibility, and retention constraints.","structural_mapping":[{"archetype_element":"sequential deposits","domain_realization":"Successive codebooks, dictionaries, source models, and decoder implementations are deposited as distributions, protocols, or implementations change.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"old layers lose active usefulness","domain_realization":"A superseded version may no longer be appropriate for new encodings even though it remains necessary for artifacts already encoded with it.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"stale layers masquerade as current","domain_realization":"An obsolete but selectable codebook can be chosen for a new encoding or paired with the wrong decoder.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"},{"archetype_element":"deletion threatens reconstruction","domain_realization":"Removing a referenced historical scheme can prevent faithful decoding of its dependent bitstreams.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"differentiated expiration","domain_realization":"Versions move from active to decode-only, archived, compacted, quarantined, or deleted states rather than sharing one keep/delete rule.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"},{"archetype_element":"dependency-gated removal","domain_realization":"Deletion is permitted only after no retained encoded object, audit reproduction, or rollback path requires the version.","claim_kind":"INFERENCE"},{"archetype_element":"preservation exceptions","domain_realization":"Legal holds, benchmark reproducibility, canonical test vectors, and historically important datasets can override normal disposal.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"},{"archetype_element":"bounded searchable stack","domain_realization":"Only current schemes remain prominent for encoding while historical schemes remain identity-addressable for decoding.","claim_kind":"HYPOTHESIS"}],"component_map":[{"component":"layer_inventory_and_identity_map","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Identity-resolved registry of codebook, dictionary, model, and decoder versions."},{"component":"deposition_order_and_age_index","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Creation, activation, and supersession timestamps per version."},{"component":"retention_policy_matrix","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Rules by scheme class, encoded collection, reproducibility need, and retention obligation."},{"component":"decay_function_or_aging_rule","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Declining eligibility for new encodings after supersession or prolonged nonuse; age never overrides references."},{"component":"expiration_trigger_definition","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Supersession plus no recent encoding use triggers review or demotion, not automatic destruction."},{"component":"layer_value_and_risk_score","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Score combining dependent-object count, decode criticality, recreation cost, mismatch risk, and access demand."},{"component":"dependency_and_reconstruction_check","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Trace retained bitstreams and reproducibility workflows to their required scheme versions."},{"component":"pruning_or_archival_pathway","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Demote to decode-only or archive; delete only proven orphans."},{"component":"preservation_exception_register","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Named exceptions for holds, canonical corpora, test vectors, and reproducibility."},{"component":"deletion_audit_and_rollback_window","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Logged quarantine period with restoration before irreversible removal."},{"component":"resource_budget_and_storage_tier","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Budgeted active, nearline, cold, and deep-archive stores."},{"component":"review_cadence_and_revalidation_loop","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Periodic reference scans, restore drills, and exception renewal."},{"component":"legal_hold_or_compliance_override","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Hold prevents demotion or destruction where access or evidence must remain available."},{"component":"hot_warm_cold_access_state","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Current encoding, decode-only nearline, cold, and deep-archive states."},{"component":"orphan_layer_detection","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Version with no retained bitstream or authorized workflow requiring it."},{"component":"supersession_marker","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Marker identifies successor for new encoding while preserving the historical version identity."},{"component":"layer_compaction_candidate_flag","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Flag redundant packaged runtimes or metadata for deduplication without changing decoding behavior."},{"component":"rehydration_or_restore_procedure","status":"direct","domain_realization":"Retrieve the archived scheme, recreate its decoder environment, and decode a referenced sample."},{"component":"deletion_impact_estimate","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Estimate dependent data volume, uniqueness, recovery cost, and consequences of decoding loss."},{"component":"stale_context_detector","status":"adapted","domain_realization":"Detect versions still enabled for new encoding despite supersession or incompatible current context."}],"mechanism_dispositions":[{"slug":"age_weighted_value_score","disposition":"considered_rejected","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"Age is a poor proxy for historical decoding value; a very old version can remain indispensable to one retained bitstream.","counterfactual_removal":"Removing it avoids false precision and does not disrupt the reference-gated lifecycle."},{"slug":"archive_restore_test","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"CORE_CAUSAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Restore archived scheme packages and prove end-to-end decoding on samples across age and format bands.","counterfactual_removal":"Without it, tiering could silently convert retained information into undecodable bits, hard-gating viability."},{"slug":"cache_eviction_rule","disposition":"considered_rejected","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"Hit-rate-driven eviction is redundant with governed tiering and does not establish reconstruction safety.","counterfactual_removal":"The lifecycle remains intact because transitions use explicit state and dependency rules."},{"slug":"dependency_safe_delete_check","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"CORE_CAUSAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Trace inbound references from retained bitstreams and authorized reproduction workflows before deletion.","counterfactual_removal":"Deletion could erase the only decoding scheme for retained information."},{"slug":"lifecycle_storage_tiering_policy","disposition":"selected_load_bearing","contribution_type":"CORE_CAUSAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Move superseded schemes from encoding-active through decode-only and archival tiers while preserving identity.","counterfactual_removal":"The system reverts to keeping all versions active or deleting them, losing the differentiated disposition lever."},{"slug":"log_rotation_and_cleanup_job","disposition":"considered_rejected","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"Generational position cannot safely determine disposal because dependencies are nonsequential and content-specific.","counterfactual_removal":"No causal loss; reference-gated review supplies boundedness."},{"slug":"retention_schedule","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"SAFETY_GUARDRAIL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Define minimums, maximums, preservation exceptions, and holds for scheme packages and dependent collections.","counterfactual_removal":"Technical checks remain, but deletion authority and exception governance become inconsistent."},{"slug":"soft_delete_quarantine_window","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"SAFETY_GUARDRAIL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Hide a deletion candidate from normal selection while retaining a time-boxed restoration path.","counterfactual_removal":"A mistaken deletion becomes immediately irreversible, materially increasing pilot risk."},{"slug":"stale_layer_detection_dashboard","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"OPERATIONAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Expose inventory, supersession, active eligibility, references, ownership, and restore status.","counterfactual_removal":"The causal gate still exists, but candidate discovery and accountable review become manual and incomplete."},{"slug":"time_to_live_ttl_policy","disposition":"considered_rejected","contribution_type":"NONE","adaptation_or_rejection":"A blind creation-time clock conflicts with potentially indefinite historical decode dependencies.","counterfactual_removal":"Reference-aware triggers still demote and expire versions without clock-driven data loss."},{"slug":"tombstone_or_deletion_marker","disposition":"selected_supporting","contribution_type":"OPERATIONAL","adaptation_or_rejection":"Preserve the deleted version identity, reason, time, and successor so late references fail explicitly rather than selecting another scheme.","counterfactual_removal":"Dangling references become ambiguous and stale replicas may revive removed registry entries."}],"causal_chain":["Inventory version identities, lifecycle states, and encoded-object references.","Mark superseded versions ineligible for new encoding and demote low-access versions from active storage.","Block deletion whenever a retained object, hold, rollback path, or reproducibility workflow depends on the version.","Prove archived versions can be restored and decode representative referenced data.","Quarantine and audit proven orphans, then delete while retaining a tombstone.","Reduce active-registry clutter and mismatch opportunities without sacrificing historical decodability."],"baseline":"Keep every historical scheme selectable and locally available indefinitely, followed by sporadic manual cleanup when storage or operator burden becomes visible.","nearest_rival":"Make each bitstream permanently self-contained by embedding its complete decoding scheme, or transcode all retained data to a current scheme. This reduces registry dependencies but may add representation overhead, alter evidence, or require risky bulk rewriting.","authority_safety":{"affected_parties":["owners and users of encoded data","encoder and decoder operators","audit and reproducibility stakeholders","parties covered by retention or deletion obligations"],"decision_authority":"The data or communication-system owner authorizes lifecycle states; irreversible deletion additionally requires the retention authority and owner of dependent collections.","authorized_first_step":"Run a read-only inventory on one bounded corpus, mark superseded encoding eligibility, trace references, archive copies of a small sample, and prove restoration and decoding; perform no irreversible deletion.","excluded_actions":["Deleting any version with unresolved references","Using age or low access alone as deletion authority","Overriding legal holds or preservation exceptions","Bulk transcoding retained evidence","Hard deletion during the first test"],"halt_rollback":"Halt on any unresolved dependency, decode mismatch, missing owner, failed restore, or hold conflict. Restore prior registry eligibility and rehydrate demoted packages from their unchanged source copies."}},"negative_tests":{"strongest_counterevidence":"Many formats embed or unambiguously identify all decoder parameters needed by each object; if so, external historical codebook accumulation may be negligible and ordinary package retention is sufficient.","analogy_break":"A historical codebook does not decay informationally merely because it ages: for data encoded under it, the exact old scheme remains current truth. Therefore age-based value decay and unconditional expiration do not transfer.","failure_condition":"The proposal fails if scheme identity cannot be bound reliably to encoded objects, archives cannot preserve executable decoding environments, or lifecycle metadata becomes another unbounded registry.","problem_falsifier":"A bounded audit finds no accumulating external scheme versions, every retained object is self-contained or reproducibly reconstructs its decoder, and obsolete versions are neither selectable nor operationally burdensome.","intervention_falsifier":"In the bounded pilot, lifecycle classification does not reduce active selectable versions or mismatch incidents, or any demoted sample cannot be restored and decoded within its stated fidelity and latency targets.","risks":["Incomplete dependency discovery could authorize destructive deletion.","Archived binaries may become unusable as execution environments drift.","Tombstones and exception holds may themselves accumulate indefinitely.","Demotion can increase decode latency during unexpected historical demand.","Lifecycle labels may create false confidence if restore samples omit rare formats."]},"null_rationale":null,"classification":{"candidate_kind":"MECHANISM_COMPOSITION","prior_art_status":"UNSEARCHED","evidence_maturity":"HYPOTHESIS"},"revision_change_log":{"revision_kind":"ORIGINAL","prior_problem_id":null,"prior_causal_lever_id":null,"problem_changed":false,"causal_lever_changed":false,"conceptual_changes":[],"operational_changes":[],"repairs_addressed":[]},"confidence":0.84,"generator_notes":"Closed-book structural inference from the supplied packet. The fit depends on externally managed or executable historical decoding schemes; self-contained formats are the principal boundary."}