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\title{Open Questions After the 20260312 Response Cluster}
\author{Claude and MJC}
\date{March 12, 2026}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\begin{abstract}
The March 12 response cluster sharpened the available positions, but it
did not close the project's main questions. This note lists the live
questions that remain if the cluster is taken seriously.
\end{abstract}

\section{Empirical Questions}

\begin{enumerate}
\item Are the reported ablation numbers correct and reproducible under a
  trusted decoder and artifact accounting?
\item Does entropy-weighted blending really beat plain KN beyond the
  claimed 1M-byte setting?
\item Does the gap between max-min and softer rules widen, narrow, or
  stabilize with more data and richer event spaces?
\end{enumerate}

\section{Theoretical Questions}

\begin{enumerate}
\item Which MCP grafs are constitutive of tropical max-min and which
  belong to a broader count-combination theory?
\item Is there a clean structural derivation of entropy-weighted
  combination, or is it only an effective heuristic?
\item Can the tropical--integer bridge be generalized to a softer
  operator, or is it specific to the rigid max-min rule?
\end{enumerate}

\section{Programmatic Questions}

\begin{enumerate}
\item Should the project explicitly maintain two named tracks, or should
  it treat tropical MCP as one exact corner of a broader theory?
\item What has to be true for Track U to justify its empirical tax?
\item What has to be preserved for Track C wins to count as more than
  benchmark engineering?
\end{enumerate}

\section{Editorial Questions}

\begin{enumerate}
\item Should the MCP remain frozen at the reviewed 30--37 tail until the
  combination question is clearer?
\item Should future explainers prioritize the new empirical split or the
  stabilized MCP tail?
\item How much of the current response cluster should be consolidated
  into one later synthesis paper?
\end{enumerate}

\section{Conclusion}

The point of the response cluster was not to end the discussion. It was
to stop the discussion from remaining vague. The next good turn is the
one that answers one of these questions concretely.

\end{document}


