# Echoes of the Prior: A Computational Phenomenology of Forgetting

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.12340 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.12340/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 9 of its 48 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Jun 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [DINOv2: Learning Robust Visual Features without Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07193/) (2023)
- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [Vision Transformers for Dense Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.13413/) (2021)
- [Understanding Contrastive Representation Learning through Alignment and Uniformity on the Hypersphere](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.10242/) (2020)
- [Grounded SAM: Assembling Open-World Models for Diverse Visual Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.14159/) (2024)
- [Depth Anything 3: Recovering the Visual Space from Any Views](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.10647/) (2025)
- [MIDI: Multi-Instance Diffusion for Single Image to 3D Scene Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.03558/) (2024)
- [Convolutional Neural Networks as a Model of the Visual System: Past, Present, and Future](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.07092/) (2020)
- [Learning to See: You Are What You See](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.00902/) (2020)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Memory is not merely the storage of data; it is the scaffolding of reality. When biological memory fades, the world does not simply turn black; it regresses into an unrecognizable chaos. Echoes of the Prior is an interactive installation that attempts to visualize this subjective phenomenology of forgetting. By inducing controlled synaptic decay within a Feed-Forward 3D Reconstruction model, we create an artistic analogy for the erosion of the brain's predictive priors. We position the Neural Network not as a tool for engineering, but as a cognitive proxy - a silicon brain whose structural degeneration evokes the disorienting, poetic, and terrifying experience of losing one's grip on the world. Ultimately, we offer this framework as a catalyst, inviting the wider community to explore the uncharted potential of neuromorphic aesthetics in visualizing the fragility of intelligence. Interactive demo see https://decart-4d.github.io/.