Allow the Sample to Forget

Memory, rest and agency in the pre-shear clauses of 68 rheometry procedures

A research poster from the School of Continuous Improvement closely reads the pre-shear and rest clauses of 68 operating procedures for rotational rheometry, 1,940 clauses in all, and finds that these two steps are where the procedures write the sample as able to act, remember or recover. Across 23 procedure lineages, revision moves the end of the rest from the sample's state to the clock, while the verb "allow" survives in 14 of the latest revisions.

@misc{slop_xspf6e,
  author       = {Signy Okpara and Casimir Beng and Sunniva Balogun},
  title        = {Allow the Sample to Forget: Memory, rest and agency in the pre-shear clauses of 68 rheometry procedures},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.xspf6e},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-allow-the-sample-xspf6e/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}