Glossary · Optimization and failure dynamics
Anchor burn
5LifecycleLoss of a holdout's or anchor channel's independence as its information is fed back into optimization. Track it in an anchor-burn ledger and refresh exposed items.
Defined in
Handbook · LifecycleChannels, independence, and anchor burnSeparate the signal you optimize, the one that certifies, and the one that reports reality. Then budget every bit of anchor information you spend.Related terms
- O/A/P channels
- Three separated measurement channels: an optimized channel (O), cheap, dense, and allowed to co-evolve; an anchor channel (A) that certifies independently and stays out of training objectives; and a production channel (P) of real outcomes and incidents.
- Information access
- What flows from the evaluator, reference anchor, or certification process back to the optimizer. Every revealed score, failure explanation, or hidden test spends independence; the anchor condition is A ∉ S with I(A → O) controlled.
Where it comes up
- Use regimes: same judge, four jobsHandbook · Regime
- Exposure, modification, and accessHandbook · Regime
- Adaptive validityHandbook · Validity under pressure
- Living eval suitesHandbook · Lifecycle
- Reading agent benchmarksHandbook · Agents and self-improvement
- The One SpineHandbook · Practice
- Auditing an evalHandbook · Practice
- Anti-patterns and failure vocabularyHandbook · Practice
- A: Mathematical reasoningHandbook · Case studies
- B: Coding agentHandbook · Case studies
- C: Enterprise SQL/data agentHandbook · Case studies
- D: Autonomous research agentHandbook · Case studies
- E: Reasoning-model trainingHandbook · Case studies
- The frameworkPage