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Equation 8 · Part 2 · Context Window Size Versus What a Frontier Model Can Actually Recall From It

Symbol τ

Leff(τ)L_{\mathrm{eff}}(\tau)
τ\tau

What this part means

τ is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.

Its job in the formula

τ is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.

The passage around this formula

W is a documented constant, published on day one of a model’s release, identical no matter who asks. Leff(τ)L_{\mathrm{eff}}(\tau) is a measured variable — specific to a task, a threshold, a benchmark design, and a date — and every result surveyed above shows it running well below W well before W is reached. The two quantities answer different questions, and only one of them is available the moment a model ships.

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Learn the underlying idea

A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

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Sources cited in the article section

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