Module 23 — Structure Learning: TEM, Transformers, and Vector-Symbolic Models

dark, ambient, mysterious, atmospheric · 4:20

Listen on 93

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Tolman–Eichenbaum Machine, 2020, Whittington's crew
Split the brain in two: structure and content, that's the cue
EC's the abstract graph, the skeleton, the grid
Hippocampus is the flesh, binds where the meaning's hid
Factorized memory — structure times content, plain
Like a table with two columns, one's the map, one's the terrain
Key-value store, EC hands you keys not doors
Hippocampus fills the value, matches structure to its source

[Chorus]
Структура — ключ, зміст — двері
(Structure's the key, content is the door)
EC holds the how, hippocampus holds the what
Ключ і зміст, разом ціле
(Key and content, together whole)
Bind it, find it, structure never lies
Пам'ять — структура помножена на зміст
(Memory's structure multiplied by content)
That's the code, so вір мені, it's no myth

[Verse 2]
2022, same lab, sharper frame
Transformers enter, attention plays the game
Query meets key, value gets recalled
EC's grid cells act like keys that transformers called
Self-attention softmax, weighing where you've been
EC's the positional code, the graph that sits within
Every head's a hippocampal index, sharp and small
Structure generalizes, content answers the call

[Chorus]
Структура — ключ, зміст — двері
EC holds the how, hippocampus holds the what
Ключ і зміст, разом ціле
Bind it, find it, structure never lies
Пам'ять — структура помножена на зміст
That's the code, so вір мені, it's no myth

[Verse 3]
Now zoom to vector-symbolic, hyperdimensional lane
Grid modules turn to operators, binding through the plane
Circular convolution, permutation, twist and bind
Multiply two vectors, factored meaning intertwined
Think of it like a palimpsest — old scripts scraped, replaced,
Yet traces of the structure linger, faintly interlaced
Each grid module's phase becomes a rotation, a binding key
Compose the codes together, build a symbolic tapestry

[Bridge]
Train a tiny TEM on a graph you let it walk
Watch the latents cluster, watch the structure talk
Same graph, new rooms — representation still holds
Structure, content, key and value — that's the story told
Модуль двадцять третій, вчись сьогодні сам
(Module twenty-three, learn it now yourself)

[Chorus]
Структура — ключ, зміст — двері
EC holds the how, hippocampus holds the what
Ключ і зміст, разом ціле
Bind it, find it, structure never lies
Пам'ять — структура помножена на зміст
That's the code, so вір мені, it's no myth

[Outro]
Ключ тримає форму, зміст наповнює життям
EC writes the grammar, hippocampus writes the poem
Structure times content, код, який ми звемо домом

← Module 22 — Predictive Maps, Eigenvectors, and Graphs | Module 24 — Synthesis and Capstone →