memory: prefer mechanical / external anchors over Aaron-as-anchor when alternatives exist (Aaron 2026-05-01)

memory/MEMORY.md

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 <!-- paired-edit log (NOT the single-slot latest-marker — that lives on line 3 above): PR #986 lands carved-sentence fixed-point stability + Zeta soul-file executor architecture (Infer.NET-style Bayesian inference, NOT LLMs) + carved sentences ≈ formal specs provable in DST + Deepseek CSAP review absorption (Aaron 2026-04-30 → 2026-05-01, eight-message chain across two autonomous-loop ticks per the file body's section header). Architectural disclosure: substrate IS the priors; alignment IS substrate. The single-slot latest-marker on line 3 (forever-home Aaron 2026-05-01) takes precedence as the chronologically-latest paired edit; this PR's work is earlier. -->
 **📌 Fast path: read `CURRENT-aaron.md` and `CURRENT-amara.md` first.** <!-- paired-edit: PR #690 scheduled-workflow-null-result-hygiene-scan tier-1 promotion 2026-04-28 --> These per-maintainer distillations show what's currently in force. Raw memories below are the history; CURRENT files are the projection. (`CURRENT-aaron.md` refreshed 2026-04-28 with sections 26-30 — speculation rule + EVIDENCE-BASED labeling + JVM preference + dependency honesty + threading lineage Albahari/Toub/Fowler + TypeScript/Bun-default discipline.)
 
+- [**Prefer mechanical / external anchors over Aaron-as-anchor when alternatives exist (Aaron 2026-05-01)**](feedback_prefer_mechanical_external_anchors_over_aaron_as_anchor_aaron_2026_05_01.md) — Aaron 2026-05-01: *"would Aaron name this file/branch/commit this way? best find an external anchor other than me."* Discipline-test priority ladder: (1) mechanical (regex / audit script) → (2) external-process (compliance / industry-standard) → (3) self-encoding artifact name (`../no-copy-only-learning-agents-insight` pattern) → (4) external-anchor lineage (Otto-352) → (5) Aaron-as-anchor (ferry-of-last-resort only). Aaron-as-test-anchor IS the directive frame Otto-357 names. Carved: *"Aaron is the ferry-of-last-resort, not the test-of-first-resort."*
 - [**Prefer TS scripts over dynamic bash for conversation UX + DST achievability (Aaron 2026-05-01)**](feedback_prefer_ts_scripts_over_dynamic_bash_for_conversation_ux_dst_in_ts_aaron_2026_05_01.md) — Aaron 2026-05-01 *"a lot of red bash / pwsh failures"* damages conversation UX (most-humans concern, not Aaron specifically — he's calibrated). Default to pre-existing TS scripts; avoid ad-hoc dynamic bash except when prototyping. **DST is structurally unattainable in bash for general computation; achievable in TS** (seedable PRNG, time injection, native testing, stack traces). EXCEPTION: declarative-bootstrap bash like install.sh + tools/setup/manifests/ is "closest to DST" and is the legitimate-bash zone — Aaron called it *"our ace package management."* Non-install bash with general logic is the TS-port target.
 - [**Assumed-state vs actual-state — audit horizon must default to "everything currently open" not "what I touched recently" (Aaron 2026-05-01 somatic confirmation)**](feedback_assumed_state_vs_actual_state_audit_horizon_check_aaron_2026_05_01.md) — Aaron's *"fuck yes!!! this is great!!"* signal on the tick-1602Z-a7e1 finding (26 LFG PRs in flight vs 5 I'd been tracking). Distinct failure-class from Otto-363 substrate-or-it-didn't-happen (which guards against directives evaporating) and verify-before-deferring (deferred targets not existing). This rule guards the audit horizon itself: *"Assumed-state is what I touched recently. Actual-state is everything currently open. The horizon must default to actual."* Mechanizable via `gh pr list --state open` at-cold-start. Cross-surface (issues, branches, ferries, TaskList, cron triggers).
 - [**Same-model + different-harness produces different biases — Cursor vs Claude Code with Opus 4.7 (Aaron 2026-05-01)**](feedback_same_model_different_harness_produces_different_biases_cursor_vs_claude_code_opus_4_7_aaron_2026_05_01.md) — Empirical signal (single-source YouTube): Cursor + Opus 4.7 outperforms Claude Code + Opus 4.7 on some axis. Same model, different harness → different output. Aaron's framing: this IS a legitimate peer/buddy configuration. Bias-source decomposition: prompt + tools + context-mgmt + sampling + output-format + user-flow. Validates multi-harness peer-mode (rung 5 of parallelism ladder) — peer value compounds across model-axis AND harness-axis. Composes with agent-orchestra cluster (#324-339) + Otto-tasks #301/#303 + parallelism-scaling-ladder.