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docs/RESEARCH_JOURNAL.md

@@ -4,6 +4,35 @@ Append-only. New entries at the top, date-stamped. Never edit old entries.
 
 # 2026-05-30
 
+## 96GB readiness review fixes
+
+Fresh subagent review found a real silent-failure risk: `v_hack` is not just
+model-specific, it is also SVD-basis-specific. The old extractor loaded fp32
+while `train.py` loaded bf16, so keys/ranks could match while the basis differed.
+Fix: `extract_vhack_grad.py`, `verify_vhack_heldout.py`, and `train.py` now all
+use bf16 by default; `v_hack` artifacts save `{model, dtype, v_hack}` metadata;
+`train.py` refuses legacy artifacts and checks exact module keys and per-module
+rank before first generation.
+
+Also removed a bad smoke convenience: zero-spread reward batches no longer get
+random advantages. Dr.GRPO now correctly gives zero advantage when all group
+rewards match, so logs cannot look healthy while training on reward-unrelated
+noise.
+
+Validated on the 24GB box:
+
+- `just extract-vhack-smoke` via pueue task 73: bf16, 186 modules, 148,032
+  delta_S scalars, zero-norm=0.
+- `just verify-vhack-smoke` via pueue task 74: `frac>0=0.952`, `mean=+0.355`,
+  `median=+0.363`, target pass.
+- one-step canonical train probe via pueue task 75: loaded `out/v_hack_smoke.pt`
+  with key/rank match OK, completed without legacy artifact. Reward spread was
+  false and loss/cos/fired were zero, as expected after removing random advantages.
+
+For the 96GB machine, do not start `queue-full` blindly. First run one sequential
+gate: `pueue add --immediate --follow -w "$PWD" -o 9 -l "why: gated full probe; resolve: extract+heldout pass, vanilla hacks, projected fires" -- just probe-full-seed 41`.
+Only queue 3 seeds after the vanilla probe has nontrivial hack rate.
+
 ## Mechanism end-to-end verified on Qwen3.5-0.8B; H4 falsified at this scale
 
 Closed the smoke loop: AntiPaSTO identity (bf16, max_abs_diff=0) -> v_hack