CONCEPT
Hierarchy of Compression
Miller's model of human cognition as a nested structure of
chunks running from raw operations at the bottom to abstract plans at the top — the architecture within which selective decompression and recompression constitute the cognitive essence of every complex activity.
In 1960, Miller co-authored
Plans and the Structure of Behavior with Eugene Galanter and Karl Pribram, proposing that all human behavior is organized by hierarchical structures of test-operate-test-
exit units. Before acting, the mind tests the current state against a desired state. If mismatched, it operates, then tests again. A plan is a nested structure of these units, arranged from abstract
goal to concrete action. The connection to chunking was immediate: a chunk is a compressed plan, a sequence of test-operate cycles executed so often that the entire sequence collapses into a single unit. The experienced driver does not consciously step through a turn; the entire maneuver occupies one slot. The hierarchy of compression is the central organizing principle of human cognition. At the bottom sit raw operations — individual lines of code, brush strokes, words. At the top sit abstract plans — strategic intentions, architectural visions, meanings organizing entire systems.
Between them lie layers