wrote:

snip

Spoke-squeezing is an intriguingly mysterious subject to
research. I remain agnostic, wavering one way and the other,
but haven't seen any experimental data or analyses involving
bicycle spokes. If you have the 3rd edition, perhaps you
could peek at the Wiedemer stuff and give me your thoughts
on it?

you may also want to consider this question:

q: elevator safety certification requires loading the cab to double
it's "safe working load". this is to test the wire ropes that suspend
it. the reason is that fracture mechanics predict that this process
will typically reveal by failure any latent flaws. but, if we extend
spoke squeezing theory, wouldn't this overload procedure also prevent
fatigue of elevator cables?

a: no. elevator cables still fatigue and need regular testing,
inspection & replacement.

the bottom line is that there is no quantification or testing of this
spoke squeeze theory. squeezing "as hard as you can" is no more
scientific than building with spoke tension "as high as the rim can
bear". i would suggest to you that the reason academics "change the
subject and get back to "serious" work" is because this theory is mere
speculation - it's author has shown no basis in statistical fact, and
most definitely not by metallurgical analysis.