TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Science and Society: Anatomy of a Techno-Myth -- Economist.com

Re: Science and Society: Anatomy of a Techno-Myth -- Economist.com

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
30 Mar 2005 09:57:11 -0800

Marcus Didius Falco wrote:

> http://economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=3D3786384

> The debate over the safety of mobile phones has little to do with
> science.

I don't think the scare of using cell phones while pumping gas ever
got too far. It'd be a very easy thing to check -- what were the
causes of gas station fires and technically could a cell phone cause
that? As an all-electronic device, cell phones normally don't
generate sparks.

One does wonder why so many gas station attendants smoke a cigarette
while pumping.

Many of these 'scares' come from grandstanding politicians who want to
come off as being concerned about their constituents' well being.
Cheap, non-attackable, tasteful free publicity.

Another source is the news media, particularly local TV and cable TV
news. My local TV stations regularly run teaser ads 'A NEW DANGER
ABOUT APPLES, FIND OUT AT EYEWITNESS AT 11!", or, 'WHAT YOUR DOCTOR
ISN'T TELLING YOU!" or 'IS YOUR CHILD AT RISK?' and then they tell
you about something that's a 1 in 634 trillion chance to happen. Many
news shows about have medical segments that are pure quackery.

You don't need to be a scientist to see through this crap, only some
common sense and some careful thinking is needed.

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