When a bundle of wires ducks under another in the direction of current flow, the current has to migrate to the outside again, snip

There's no question that it happens


Books, and to a lesser extent the web. Information about this is
snip
I have a great deal of respect for his experience, measurements, and opinions

Again, interesting, but what's been outlined so far is not scientific.
For something of this nature to be of any utility, it must be grounded
in science.