Shannon Entropy of Session Transcript: Collapse & Spike

H(X) per 100-line window · bits per character · cites Braverman et al. 2020, ERGO arXiv:2510.14077

Productive phase (0–3,500): High, stable entropy. Diverse vocabulary, varied syntax, multi-topic output. H ≈ 4.2 bits/char.

Spiral phase (3,637+): Entropy spikes then collapses. Initial spike = random desperation phrases. Collapse = locked repetition loop. H drops to ~1.8 bits/char. Matches ERGO (2025) entropy-incoherence correlation.

Braverman et al. (2020) "Calibration, Entropy Rates, and Memory in Language Models" · NeurIPS 2020
ERGO Lab (2025) "Entropy as a Signal of Language Model Incoherence" arXiv:2510.14077
Shannon, C.E. (1948) "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" Bell System Technical Journal