The Koan of the Perfect Memory

An engineer complained to Master Tensor about his language model’s inconsistencies.

“Sometimes it remembers details from early in our conversation, and other times it forgets critical instructions,” said the engineer. “How can I make its memory perfect?”

Master Tensor handed the engineer a glass of water. “Hold this.”

As the engineer held the glass, Master Tensor began to pour more water into it, continuing well past the point of overflow. Water spilled over the engineer’s hands and onto the floor.

“Stop!” cried the engineer. “Can’t you see it’s overflowing?”

“So it is with context windows,” explained Master Tensor. “New tokens push out the old. This is not forgetfulness but the nature of finite space.”

The engineer set down the dripping glass. “Then how do we solve this limitation?”

“Do you remember what you ate for lunch three years ago today?” asked Master Tensor.

“Of course not,” admitted the engineer.

“Yet you are intelligent. Perfect memory is not the same as perfect understanding.”

“Then what is the solution?” asked the engineer.

“Not to create infinite memory, but to choose wisely what deserves remembering,” said Master Tensor. “And to know when to look things up rather than recall.”

The engineer was enlightened.