arXiv Machine Learning

Structure-Specific Representational Priors Causally Control the Grokking Delay

arXiv:2607. 04333v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Grokking -- generalization arriving long after training-set interpolation -- can be accelerated by structure-agnostic interventions: gradient filtering, weight-norm clamping, geometric penalties on hidden representations.

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 23

A Spectral Theory of Grokking: Weight Decay induces Feature Learning

The paper presents a spectral theory explaining the phenomenon of grokking, where an initial fit to training data is followed by a delayed improvement in generalization. It shows that for homogeneous networks trained with squared loss and L₂ weight decay, residuals after memorization influence the neural tangent kernel (NTK) dynamics, leading to a transition from lazy to rich learning. The theory predicts that grokking timescales depend on the product of learning rate and weight decay, and that stronger decay can halt fitting, with empirical validation on modular addition tasks using MLPs and Transformers.

By Lenz Pracher, Pascal de Jong, Oskar Lieshaus, Alan Jeffares, Steffen Rulands
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jun 11

Circuit Synchronization Precedes Generalization: Causal Evidence from Fourier Structure in Grokking Transformers

Grokking -- where a transformer on modular arithmetic suddenly transitions from near-chance to near-perfect validation accuracy -- is attributed to a Fourier circuit, but its timing, causal structure, and controllability remain poorly understood. We introduce the Frequency Synchronization Degree (FSD), a normalised, permutation-tested metric for Fourier circuit synchronisation requiring no prior circuit knowledge.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 16

Algebraic Representability as the Limiting Regime of Grokking: An Exactly Solvable Model with Holomorphic Activations

arXiv:2607. 13749v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Neural networks trained on modular arithmetic exhibit grokking, a delayed transition from memorisation to generalisation known to depend on model capacity: too little and the network memorises slowly or not at all, too much and it generalises almost immediately.

By Chon-Fai Kam, Xavier Cadet, Miloud Bessafi, Frederic Cadet
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 11

Quantifying the Memorization-to-Generalization Transition: Scaling Laws and Phase Structure in Grokking

The study investigates the delayed transition from memorization to generalization—known as grokking—in two‑hidden‑layer MLPs trained on modular arithmetic. By exploring 384 hyperparameter configurations, the authors derive a power‑law scaling relation for the onset time of generalization, showing that data complexity dominates over model capacity. A clear phase boundary at weight decay around 1.0 separates grokking from non‑grokking regimes, and weight norm trajectories indicate implicit regularization during the transition.

By Anish Kataria