A Spectral Theory of Compositional Learning
How does compositional reasoning emerge during learning? We address this question by mathematically analyzing the learning dynamics of deep linear networks. We train these networks in structured synthetic environments and derive a theory linking the structure of experience to compositional learning. Our theory predicts when compositional inferences emerge, whether they are identifiable from the available evidence, and how new linking evidence can rapidly unlock previously unavailable inferences. These results provide a qualitative explanation for several phenomena observed in human cognition. They account for why a composition can fail despite knowing its premises, why similar composition...
| Authors | Hugo Rydel |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.LG |
| Published | 27 September 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 27 September 2026 |
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