People Who Oscillate

From today’s mini-AIR:

The Oscillating Humans Project, announced here, is searching for a living specimen – an exemplar – of an oscillating human.

DEFINITION: For purposes of the project, an Oscillating Human is someone who consistently, repeatedly, over many years, expresses opinions directly opposite to opinions he or she expressed earlier, always ignoring and/or denying the existence of copious, easily found clear documentation of the earlier opinions.

PURPOSE: The exemplary person, once identified, will serve as an example for teachers to use in logic classes. To minimize the chance of lawsuits, the exemplar must be a “public person”, with (as stated above) for whom there is copious, easily found, clear documentation of years and years of oscillation.

If you know of an outstanding specimen, please send:

1. The name and a 20-word biographical sketch of the person.
2. Several URLs pointing to clear, unarguable documentation.

Send to: OSCILLATING HUMANS PROJECT: marca AT improbable.com

NOTE: This is an education project. It is NOT an exercise in naming people you don’t like. No screeds, please.

Oscillating Humans Literature Review

Published research about this form of human oscillation may be scarce. One of the few apparently relevant items — judging it by its title, if not by its contents, is this British study:

“Oscillation of Human Performance as a Personality Measure,” Michael A. Tainsh, Perceptual and Motor Skills, vol. 35, no. 2, October 1972, pp. 677-8.

Truly pertinent citations will be welcomed.

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