question
active
question:does-llama-compute-modular-addition-or-base-10-addition-for-cyclic-tasksDoes Llama compute modular addition or base-10 addition for cyclic tasks?
The specific computational question the paper resolves empirically
Source paper
extracted_from(2026) · Sheridan Feucht · Tal Haklay · Usha Bhalla · Daniel Wurgaft +8
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Findings (1)
finding
- Llama-3.1-8B uses base-10 addition rather than modular addition to compute cyclic concept sumsanswered_byThe central empirical finding that computation does not mirror the circular representational structure
Related by similarity (8)
cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edgeEntities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.
- Predictive hypothesis about domain-generality of the identified mechanism
- Key mechanistic finding showing task-agnostic reuse of arithmetic circuitry
- The complete mechanistic algorithm discovered for cyclic concept reasoning
- Verbatim summary of the main discovery.
- The specific Fourier feature periods identified confirm base-10 rather than modular computation
- The empirical question the paper addresses through mechanistic investigation