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Group Wants Wi-Fi Banned, Citing Allergy
54mc writes "A small group in Santa Fe, New Mexico is claiming that the city is discriminating against them by having wireless networks in public buildings. How are these buildings discriminatory? Simple. These people are allergic to Wi-Fi. And they're suing the city." I've been trying to sue people for the streetlights that I'm allergic to as well.
I'm allergic to stupidity. Can we ban these people?
Are they allergic? Let's not let data get in the way of a good argument: No they're not.
Wow, even Wikipedia agrees.
They're spacin me out with all their "electro-waves" I wonder if they know they've been bombarded with electro-waves their whole life. Or maybe they haven't heard of the sun.
Ze Atomic Device! It iz Ztolen!
Well the key there is that the "5 out of 144" were the control group for the experiment.
In other words of the people who claimed to be sensitive, only 4.5% correctly identified when the mast was on in all 6 tries. Meanwhile in the control group - the group of people who do not claim to be sensitive - 4.3% correctly identified when the mast was on in all 6 tries.
Draw from that what you will, but the only logical conclusion is that a group of people who claimed to be extremely sensitive to EM signals are no more sensitive than a random group drawn from the general population. It's like taking a group of people who claim to be NBA all stars and pitting them against a team of randomly selected people, and then having the game end in a tie.
Wild almonds are also natural. Its just that one wild almond can cntain enough cyanide to kill you.
Cancer rates have DECREASED over the last several years. (http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005/results_merged/sect_01_overview.pdf WARNING: PDF) What most fail to recognize is that the perceived increase is a combination of increased news access and increased numbers but the actual per capita numbers are trending down. So while living longer and preventing or surviving other diseases grant ample increased opportunity to get cancer, better living has also saved many from that fate. {Examining the other data at this site will probably indicate that some cancers are on the rise, as well as cancer incidents in some populations being on the rise. The PDF I linked to shows the overall trend.)
I hope this comment is well received... I could have moderated instead!
Persecutors will be violated!
> We've evolved NOT TO.
No, we haven't.
In general we are EDUCATED to avoid these things. But we've developed no natural immunity to their poisons. Nor have we even developed a dislike to them. Improperly done fugu sashimi that will kill you tastes just as delicious as the correctly prepared, and much sought after, dish that will just numb your lips. To this day, a handful of people die of fugu poison every year.
The mushrooms are an even better example. A fair number of people die from eating the wrong wild mushrooms every year. By the accounts of the lucky survivors, they taste just fine. But just half a cap of the destroying angel, which is the one that looks like the button mushroom, is certain death without immediate and intense medical treatment.
We haven't evolved ANY natural defense to either. We educate the hell out of people, though. To be licensed to prepare fugu takes YEARS of training and apprenticeship. And virtually every outdoorsy or survival book you'll see beats it over your head NOT to eat wild mushrooms. But that's ALL a function of society... not a change in our bodies.
cya,
john
Imagine all the people...