lab_memory.json

{
  "project": "cascade-spread",
  "created": "2026-03-15",
  "runs": [
    {
      "cycle": 1,
      "date": "2026-03-15 16:45",
      "question": "How do cascades spread in networks",
      "result": "Four mechanisms govern cascade spread: threshold activation, branching processes, percolation dynamics, and load redistribution. Scale-free networks (γ < 3) have vanishing epidemic threshold. Cascade window at intermediate connectivity (z ~ 4-10). Power-law cascade sizes P(s) ~ s^(-3/2).",
      "supported": [
        "Scale-free networks with γ < 3 have vanishing epidemic threshold",
        "Watts threshold model predicts cascade window at intermediate connectivity",
        "Cascade size distributions follow power-law with exponent -3/2",
        "Higher clustering amplifies cascades when thresholds are low",
        "Interdependent networks show first-order phase transitions"
      ],
      "rejected": [],
      "unknown": [
        "Temporal network effects on cascade thresholds",
        "Higher-order interactions (simplicial complexes) impact",
        "Optimal topology maximizing functionality vs minimizing cascade risk",
        "Real-time metrics for 'distance from criticality'"
      ],
      "next_tests": [
        "Test 1: Epidemic threshold verification in scale-free networks",
        "Test 2: Cascade window identification via percolation",
        "Test 3: Power-law cascade size distribution validation (10,000+ samples)",
        "Test 4: Branching process criticality test (R₀ = 1.0)",
        "Test 5: Load redistribution cascade test (BTW sandpile)"
      ],
      "agents_used": [
        "ClaudeResearcher (Scientist)",
        "GrokResearcher (Skeptic)",
        "ClaudeResearcher (Historian)",
        "CodexResearcher (Experimenter)",
        "GeminiResearcher (Explainer)",
        "General-purpose (Philosopher)",
        "Artist (Media skill)"
      ],
      "status": "complete"
    }
  ],
  "dead_ends": [],
  "open_questions": [
    "Can we develop real-time metrics for 'distance from criticality'?",
    "Is there an optimal topology that maximizes functionality while minimizing cascade risk?",
    "How do we design governance structures for protective inefficiency?",
    "What does cascade fragility imply about conscious experience?",
    "Can we design anti-fragile networks that learn from small cascades?"
  ],
  "key_insights": [
    "Stability lives in topology, not individual nodes",
    "Local rationality produces systemic fragility",
    "Blame is structurally misallocated after cascades - the true cause is network topology",
    "Some fragmentation is protective - maximally efficient networks are cascade-prone",
    "The universe has a preferred vocabulary for systemic failure, and it is surprisingly small"
  ]
}