Toward a Unified Theory of Window Blind and Escalator Step dormancy syndrome

Abstract

Following a stubborn incident involving a remote control at the bicycle parking garage at Amsterdam Centraal, we initiated a longitudinal diary study spanning 200+ days to determine whether orientation bias could account for the observed behavior. Our data (χ² = 14.7, with exactly the degrees of freedom we hoped for) indicates that it can, mostly. The data speaks for itself, though it speaks quietly and in a regional dialect.

Methodology

comparative field notes across 8 European cities was conducted in coordination with two shopkeepers who agreed to be vague about it. We declined to register the study prospectively, as we were unsure how it would turn out.

Observations

Most striking, perhaps, was patterns that strongly resemble those documented in our earlier, unrelated studies.

This is consistent with our 2022 preprint, which has not been cited but remains, in our view, correct.

Discussion

Critics will doubtless object that the sample size is modest. To them we say: yes, possibly.

Future work will explore whether parking meters display the same pattern under comparable conditions.

Conclusion

Taking the data as a whole, we are cautiously optimistic, in the way that one is optimistic about finding matching socks.