radiophobia at its finest

[insert_name]

So apparently people think LOW FREQUENCY, NON-IONIZING radiation can cause brain cancer. But it gets worse, these people somehow have jobs at the CDC. Its annoying how people freak out over radiation like its some kind of mystical demon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/technology/at-cdc-a-debate-behind-recommendations-on-cellphone-risk.html?partner=msft_msn&_r=0

[fredinno]

27 minutes ago, insert_name said:

So apparently people think LOW FREQUENCY, NON-IONIZING radiation can cause brain cancer. But it gets worse, these people somehow have jobs at the CDC. Its annoying how people freak out over radiation like its some kind of mystical demon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/technology/at-cdc-a-debate-behind-recommendations-on-cellphone-risk.html?partner=msft_msn&_r=0

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Radiophobia

These people should make sure nobody ever goes out into the Sun- something that is KNOWN to create Ionizing radiation, and cause cancer.

Edited January 2, 2016 by fredinno

[Rdivine]

It's still sad how urban myths continue to flourish amongst the uneducated public. 

Many continue to argue that excessive cellphone use causes cancer. In fact, they are right... and wrong at the same time.

 

Many studies have shown positive correlation among cellphone use and brain cancer. However, there are also an equal amount of studies that says otherwise. In theory, cellphones use radio waves to "talk" to radio towers. These radio waves have low voltages and have little effect on anything at all. Even if radiowaves were ionizing, it would take years before we start developing cancer (yes, i know radiowaves are NOT ionizing).

In actuality, brain cancer is EXTREMELY rare. These cases of brain cancer occur so little that studies can't be done with any certainty at all. Veritasium has done a great video to explain all this, which you can check it out here.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2016 by Rdivine

[tg626]

Paste the link and hit return, it automagically becomes an embedded player

[RainDreamer]

I wish someone would just run in front of them and takes off a piece of clothing, saying: "I just exposed you to radiation from my body!"

[insert_name]

We should inform them that lightbulbs emit radiation lol

[RainDreamer]

Or tell them that bananas are more radioactive than a cellphone.

Relevant xkcd chart:

 

[fredinno]

7 hours ago, RainDreamer said:

Or tell them that bananas are more radioactive than a cellphone.

Relevant xkcd chart:

 

Tell that to Freelee the Banana Girl.

[Hcube]

These guys need to realize that they are emitting more harmful radiation than the phone they hold in their hands

A lot more actually...

The brain contains potassium 40 though, so the real question is : Does having  a brain cause brain cancer ? 

[peadar1987]

9 hours ago, Hcube said:

These guys need to realize that they are emitting more harmful radiation than the phone they hold in their hands

A lot more actually...

The brain contains potassium 40 though, so the real question is : Does having  a brain cause brain cancer ? 

Did you know that over 70% of terminal cancer patients have brains? Shocking!

Edited January 3, 2016 by peadar1987

[cubinator]

*clicks link*

"please no please don't do it"

*popup ad appears*

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" *closes tab immediately* Honestly, I'm far more annoyed by the overwhelming amount of ads in seemingly every news site than how many people think radio waves cause cancer, or how many people think the Mun landings were faked or the Earth is flat (although they do get pretty annoying sometimes) because no matter what people think, I will always know what I know...and yet there will still be waaay too many ads.

back to subject: Non-ionizing radiation does not cause cancer.

new unrelated thought: I wonder if it's possible to make ionizing sound?

[fredinno]

50 minutes ago, cubinator said:

*clicks link*

"please no please don't do it"

*popup ad appears*

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" *closes tab immediately* Honestly, I'm far more annoyed by the overwhelming amount of ads in seemingly every news site than how many people think radio waves cause cancer, or how many people think the Mun landings were faked or the Earth is flat (although they do get pretty annoying sometimes) because no matter what people think, I will always know what I know...and yet there will still be waaay too many ads.

back to subject: Non-ionizing radiation does not cause cancer.

new unrelated thought: I wonder if it's possible to make ionizing sound?

It's possible to kill using ultrasound. Is that close enough?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weapon

[cubinator]

2 minutes ago, fredinno said:

It's possible to kill using ultrasound. Is that close enough?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weapon

No, I want sound waves that cause cancer.

[fredinno]

28 minutes ago, cubinator said:

No, I want sound waves that cause cancer.

Justin Beiber's music causes cancer, does that help?

[Hcube]

Hmmm ionizing sound ?

Maybe with a super powerful soundwave that would heat up the material up to the point where it becomes a plasma-

 

Yeah it's impossible, let's stick to light waves

[Bill Phil]

Some people just have quirks. 

Most scientists or whatever have to sacrifice knowledge of other topics to master theirs. A lot of people let others do their thinking for them. That's a double edged sword, though. It can be good, when it is. But also bad, when that is.

10 hours ago, fredinno said:

Justin Beiber's music causes cancer, does that help?

I thought that it caused something else to give you cancer.

It is a "possibility", but something that's so tiny that it's less than pretty much everything, requires a lot of fudging, and even then doesn't make sense, is kind of ridiculous. But then again, you're safe, almost guaranteed.

[steve_v]

Gah, this again. I really wish this "cellphones cause cancer" BS would die already, it's been tested enough to say "no link found". Not to mention the whole getting a bigger dose from pretty much everything else.

The only people who believe this junk are those who have no idea what they're on about, or how radio works.

I've recently seen (local paper no less):
WIFI causes ADD, and a whole host of other things, and should be banned in schools. (guess I should move that 6' antenna out of my house then )
A big (and largely successful) campaign against a cell tower (main argument: dangerous radio waves) in a real coverage black spot. I really hope the pitchfork wielding mobs come for these fools when someone dies in a boating accident because no cell coverage.

[insert_name]

yeah its also really annoying when people think microwaves will give you cancer

[steve_v]

11 minutes ago, insert_name said:

yeah its also really annoying when people think microwaves will give you cancer

A microwave will, surprisingly enough, cook you if you manage to operate it with body-parts inside or the door removed.
Cancer? probably not.
Again, a myth perpetuated by people who don't have a clue how the thing works. Technology + ignorance = witchcraft = evil.

 

13 hours ago, fredinno said:

Justin Beiber's music causes cancer, does that help?

Cancer, no. Nausea? quite possibly, at least it has that effect on me... potentially accompanied by self-mutilation, particularly around the ear area.

Edited January 4, 2016 by steve_v

[Evanitis]

15 hours ago, cubinator said:

*popup ad appears*

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Ever considered an AdBlock extension? I heard that seeing advertisements on the internet causes cancer.

[Elthy]

I havent seen Ads in like 5 years, still that bad?

Anyway, i remember a cause where people complained about a cell phone tower, saying they got headaches and other problems since they erected it. Then the people building it wondered what would happen when they switch it on...

[steve_v]

21 minutes ago, Evanitis said:

I heard that seeing advertisements on the internet causes cancer.

Dunno about cancer, but it certainly causes irritation bordering on anger for me. I've been running ABP + NoScript for so long it hurts when I have to use a browser without them. How does anyone get anything done with that annoying garbage in the way all the time?

 

6 minutes ago, Elthy said:

...still that bad?

Checking...

Yup, truly obnoxious.

Edited January 4, 2016 by steve_v

[Kerbart]

Part of the problem is that “science” does not have a good track record in the eyes of the public when it comes to declaring technology safe. Far too often that has more to do with bad journalism in the first place. And then there’s large corporations whose first concern is profit and who will not refrain from putting a lab coat on someone (perhaps even someone with a title) to declare that there’s nothing wrong with product x, whatever that product is.

So just as your high school teacher who has heard every story imaginable on why you didn’t have your homework with you, and just as every judge who has heard way too many sob stories to assume defendants are innocent, “the public” has developed a sense of cynicism and the assumption they’re lying and just using fancy words to intimidate us.

Smoking, nuclear power plants, thalidomide, leaded gasoline, asbestos, an endless list of pharmaceutical drugs... things hailed as perfectly safe, often by middle-aged white men wearing lab coats and glasses, often using “science” to explain why their product was perfectly safe and all those stories of things going bad were highly overrated... Of course, there’s technology like nuclear power generation that can be safe. Chernobyl and Fukushima have proved that when things go wrong, they can go wrong badly. So why trust AT&T when they put up a “scientist” telling us that their towers are using “low energy” and “non-ionizing” radiation? That tower is not there for my health, it’s to make money for AT&T. Can I expect them to be honest about health concerns? Is there a history of corporations shunning profit over public welfare?

So, now we’re stuck with vaxxers who will give humanity the return of deadly childhood diseases and activists who will block powerlines and cell phone towers (convincing equally uninformed councilpeople). Sad and wrong? Yes. Understandable? Perfectly.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Kerbart

[steve_v]

Well, scepticism is fine - I don't trust the promises of politicians corporate frontpeople either.
But in the case of radio transmitters... this is a technology that has been with us for long enough to hope that a reasonable percentage of the population has either a grasp of the fundamentals or the nous to research some not-funded by AT&T information.
Those who work with high-powered radio gear don't generally wear lab coats, it's a mature enough technology to be in the hands of engineers. I know a few and I bet they'll all scoff at the idea of cell towers causing cancer. Don't believe me? Go ask one.

I find it slightly amusing that the same who think nearby cell towers are causing [insert health concern here] seem to have no problem with the multi-kilowatt AM/FM radio mast on the top of the hill over there...

While I can understand why they don't, I just wish the "general public" would have the sense to acquire the knowledge themselves or talk to someone who actually understands the technology before going off the conspiracy theory deep-end.

As the saying goes: Trust, but verify.

Edited January 4, 2016 by steve_v

[Kerbart]

4 hours ago, steve_v said:

As the saying goes: Trust, but verify.

Sadly that knowledge has gone out of the window with the general public. The amount of easily dismissed hoaxes that seem to perpetuate on Facebook is simply staggering, and rather depressing. Instant gratification is key, and why delay clicking "share" with ten seconds doing boring "research" when you don't have to?