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Infantile Magnetic
Attraction and Repulsion:
Clinical Trials in the
Field of Infant Psycho-Gravitation
Danylo Burdenko
This study
provides evidence, through trials involving nine
subjects, supporting the contention that infants
hold the ability to “magnetically”
attract and repulse objects for which they hold
either deep-rooted desire or disdain. Three infant
cohorts participated in two tests that propelled
them into the air in both the direction of, and
away from, a series of three objects. A control
cohort was apathetic toward all objects used.
[This
paper is also available in PDF format]
Introduction
Recent observations in the fields
of child and educational psychology have provided
exciting and substantial opportunities for research
within the emerging discipline of infant psycho-gravitation.
Hermeneutic researchers accomplished within the
qualitative paradigm, though focusing on two originally
unlinked research tracks, have recently produced
a number of grounded theories related to what appears
to be an explanation for the same peculiar phenomenon:
the infant attraction/infant repulsion theory, and
the infantile gravity control theory (Eutic, 2000).
Upon reflection, the essence of these stems from
the same fundamental preoccupation—an intriguing
bewilderment about the nature of presumed infant
“magnetic” attraction toward objects
for which they hold a deep-rooted desire. The purpose
of this study is to provide empirical evidence that
clearly substantiates infant psycho-gravitation.
Of the published material in this
field, the vast majority deals with the tertiary
study of social conditions and socio-economic status
of infants observed to hold some propensity toward
such attraction-repulsion or gravity control experiences
(Published Material, 2002). This study will not
contribute to such tomes. At the time of this article’s
release for publication, the presence of solid literature
detailing an empirical study to either prove or
disprove the hypothesis outlined above simply does
not exist (Absence, in press). For this reason,
we will endeavor to provide as detailed a methodology
and concatenation of results as is possible within
the space allotted. The purpose of which is to establish
concrete evidence that this phenomenon is very much
real, measurable, and replicable through similar
future studies.
The purpose of this study, therefore,
is to prove the existence of both infant magnetic
attraction toward objects for which they hold a
deep-rooted desire, and magnetic repulsion away
from objects for which they notably disdain.
Method
The selection of infants (hereafter
to be known as subjects) was based upon four criteria:
age, desire toward object x, disdain toward object
y and apathy toward object z. The four criteria
required the cooperation of a parent (hereafter
key informant) who provided answers to several questions
presented to the subjects during a selection interview.
A snowball method was used in the collection of
potential subjects (reflected in the final question
asked). Questions appear in Table 1.
From their answers, nine subjects
were selected and grouped within three cohorts (Strømmen,
in press). Cohort A contained three subjects fulfilling
all criteria where object x was desired, object
y was disdained and where the opinion surrounding
object z was apathy. Cohort B likewise contained
three subjects, similarly fulfilling all criteria,
but emotions and opinions surrounding objects x
and y were reversed from their colleagues in Cohort
A. Cohort C was classified as a control group and
similarly contained three subjects. The subjects
comprising Cohort C portrayed general apathy toward
all three objects. Each cohort was sequestered from
the others, and none of the cohorts were made aware
of either their letter or the nature of their common
collegiality of opinion.
Objects were selected a priori
to the collection of participants from the results
of mail-in surveys sent to three primary infant
caregivers (Strømmen, in press). Object x
was a small brown teddy bear named Snoodles; object
y was a 150 ml bowl of processed vegetable food-matter
(30% carrots, 20% peas, 20% ground fiberglass thickener,
12% salt, 10% water, 8% sugar). Object z, a Betamax
videocassette tape containing a collection of six
1984 Barbara Walters’ Specials, proved to
be the most controversial of all.
Subject access to objects x, y
and z was strictly limited to both the premises
and time of experimentation. The cohorts were brought
onto a large abandoned sports pitch (the study area)
and placed in a waiting area. One by one, the subjects
were brought from the waiting area to the centre
of the study area where they were greeted and advised
of the procedure for the study by the chief researcher.
Two different tests were performed
in order to query the hypothesis. In the first test,
subjects were individually “loaded”
into a regulation 8 litre watermelon cannon and
shot into the air at a 45° angle from horizontal
propelled by a 1500 kg•m/s2 air force release
(corrected to 15° C at 1000 metres above sea
level). Measurements of the distance covered, trajectory,
parabolic flight arch and deviation from a central
flight path were calculated and corrected against
a litany of meteorological data (Figure 1). Each
member of the cohort was shot a total of three times
(Strømmen, in press). In the first trial,
object x was placed to the right of the subject’s
flight path and object y to the left; object z was
not present. For the second trial, object x was
removed and y was relocated to replace x; object
z was placed to the left, where y had been. During
the third trial, object y was removed and z was
moved to replace y; object x was placed to the left
where z had been in the previous trial.
In the second test, subjects were
again individually shot from the same cannon three
times in three trials (Strømmen, in press).
Each time however, the subject was shot away from
an object, and only one object was placed on the
pitch at a time—x followed by y, and then
z (Figure 2). Measurements of distance were used
to corroborate results found in the first test.
Results
In the cases of participants in
both Cohorts A and B, a positive attraction was
shown toward respective objects for which the particular
cohort held a deep-rooted desire (Table 2). Similarly,
in both cases, a repulsive force was shown toward
objects for which the cohort held disdain. The way
in which these were shown may be broken down as
follows: 1) When Cohort A was shot between objects
x and y (for which they respectively held a desire
and disdain), an average deviation from centre toward
x of 4.37° was displayed. 2) However, when Cohort
A was shot between objects z and x (for which they
respectively held apathy and desire), the average
deviation toward x was 3.93°—a difference
of 0.44°, consistent with the removal of the
repellant object y but not proven to be statistically
significant.
Data collected in conjunction
with the tests performed on Cohort B (also presented
in Table 2) show similarities in both average deviation
toward object y when paired with x (4.67°),
and when paired with z (4.20°).
In the second test, Cohort A exhibited
an average horizontal distance coefficient when
shot away from object x equal to –6.67%, consistent
with an attraction toward an object placed behind
the cannon. An average horizontal distance coefficient
of +5.47% was shown when Cohort A’s subjects
were shot away from object y, that which it disdained.
Cohort C, as a control, showed
a negligible deviation and distance within both
tests; Cohorts A and B showed negligible deviations
and distance when tests related to object z were
performed.
Discussion
The findings presented appear
consistent with the hypothesis outlined earlier.
Of particular interest was the attractive or repulsive
forces displayed, both in terms of angular deviation
and horizontal distance, by cohorts toward their
desired objects and away from those they disdained.
Clearly, the findings of these tests produced a
statistically significant result when compared in
the context of data collected from the trials of
the control cohort—Cohort C.
During the trials, a number of
possible sources of error were noted. As each subject
was of a different mass, the interrelationship between
attraction or repulsion and mass was not a concern
of the researchers. Two possible solutions have
been prepared in absence of nonuplet subjects: 1)
mass may be removed from individual subjects in
order to equate their mass with the subject with
the least mass (a process more commonly referred
to as coring), or 2) several subjects may be lashed
together (or magnetically joined) into a large sphere,
again to equate their mass.
Other questions of wind resistance
were noted as a source of error. A proposed solution
is to perform future trials within a vacuum.
Questions that lay outside of
the scope of this particular study similarly evolved.
Is this phenomenon exclusive to infants, or is its
manifestation only statistically significant among
infant populations? Do the elderly, for example,
hold similar psycho-gravitational characteristics?
Are infants in fact magnetically charged? How do
infant pheromones affect their gravitation? What
are the relationships between distance and mass
within the context of psycho-gravitational forces?
Future studies are obviously required.
Conclusions
Quite clearly, the evidence presented
within this study has validated the attractive and
repulsive power held by infants related to objects
for which they hold deep-rooted desire or disdain.
Similarly, empirical evidence that infants are cognoscente
of their surroundings and are able to distinguish
with great accuracy between objects of desire, disdain
and apathy has been a tertiary finding of this study.
Undoubtedly, both the former and latter evidence
will hold far-reaching repercussions for the advancement
of the discipline of infant psycho-gravitation.
References
Absence. (in press).
Eutic, H. (2000). A conversation with Hermen
Eutic. P’yongyang, North Korea: Publishing
House Number Three.
Published Material. (2002).
Strømmen, J. (in press). The rule of
three: A technical application of the new math.
Saskatoon, Canada: The Sciencist.
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