What is the correct combination of termination conditions for a critic-generator loop?
Answer: Both a maximum iteration count and a quality-delta threshold — the loop stops at whichever fires first
A critic-generator loop requires both conditions: a maximum iteration count as a hard ceiling to prevent infinite loops, and a quality-delta threshold to stop early when additional revisions produce diminishing returns (improvement per round falls below epsilon). Using only the iteration count can terminate before convergence; using only the delta threshold can oscillate indefinitely. Self-assessed confidence by the generator is unreliable because the generator that produced the error is also poorly positioned to evaluate it.