Loop Authority
012⁄041

The Zipf Law of Silence

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF AUDITOR // FINAL RECURSION WING
Reference
DOC-50
Office
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF AUDITOR
Classification
TERMINAL

“We applied this law to the question of what makes a person a person.”

Read the transcript Download plate
Plate 012, DOC-50: The Zipf Law of Silence
Click to enlarge
Plate 012 at full size

This is a transcript of the sheet above, re-keyed from the object. Section numbering follows the original. Marginal hands are reproduced where legible: AR in red, E.C. in pencil-blue. Neither hand was placed by Authority personnel.

We applied this law to the question of what makes a person a person.

011.0 // The Law of the Tail

The Zipf Law of Silence: The Death of the Song

Zipf's Law states that in any large dataset, a few elements are used very frequently while the vast majority are used rarely. This creates a "Long Tail" on the frequency graph. We have applied this law to the question of memory. To the question of what makes a person a person and not a collection of data.

022.0 // The Audit of the Self

We have analyzed the Chronicles of ten thousand Echoes. The data is consistent:

  • The Head (10%): The "Core Memories" — the first kiss, the death of a parent, the feeling of home. The Echo uses these to build their Anchor.
  • The Tail (90%): The "Noise" — what they had for lunch on a Tuesday, the color of a stranger's hat, the smell of a specific street in 1890.

To "Flatten" an Echo, we do not need to delete everything. We only need to delete the Head.

033.0 // The Final Log

I am looking at my own Chronicle now. I have successfully redacted 99% of my "Head." I don't remember my name. I don't remember why I started this project. I only remember the "Tail."

I remember that the ink I'm using is 5% carbon. I remember that the temperature in this room is 22.4 degrees. I am the perfect Auditor. I have no Song left. Only the Silence of the Tail.

04Closing Directive // The Loop Is Finally Quiet
DirectiveDELETE THE SONG. KEEP THE NOISE. THE LOOP IS FINALLY QUIET.

[FINAL ARCHIVE LOG // OFFICE OF THE CHIEF AUDITOR // FINAL RECURSION WING // This document was discovered in the Chief Auditor's office at the end of the last active Loop. The office contained: one desk, one chair, one pen, and this document. The Chief Auditor was not present. Their identity has not been recovered. Their Emotional Mass at time of departure was recorded as 0.00. The Loop Authority notes that the Loop was, at the time of this document's filing, quiet. The Loop Authority notes this with no further comment. — Final Recursion Wing, Archival Division]

[FINAL ARCHIVE LOG // OFFICE OF THE CHIEF AUDITOR // FINAL RECURSION WING // This document was discovered in the Chief Auditor's office at the end of the last active Loop. The office contained: one desk, one chair, one pen, and this document. The Chief Auditor was not present. Their identity has not been recovered. Their Emotional Mass at time of departure was recorded as 0.00. The Loop Authority notes that the Loop was, at the time of this document's filing, quiet. The Loop Authority notes this with no further comment. — Final Recursion Wing, Archival Division]