"Wi-Fi Refugees" Shelter in West Virginia Mountains

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"Wi-Fi Refugees" Shelter in West Virginia Mountains

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @03:46AM from the break-out-the-tinfoil dept.

The 13,000 sq mile U.S. Radio Quiet Zone is an area in West Virginia where all wireless transmissions are banned because of the large number of radio telescopes located there. (This official page shows a map of the Zone; an old Wired article is fascinating reading.) These high-tech telescopes have attracted unlikely neighbors, people who claim to have Wi-Fi allergies. In recent years, scores of people have moved to the area to escape the "damage" that electromagnetic fields can cause them. From the article: "Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic radiation caused by waves from wireless communication. 'It's a horrible thing to have to be a prisoner,' she says. 'You become a technological leper because you can't be around people. It's not that you would be contagious to them — it's what they're carrying that is harmful to you.'"

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Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by elrous0 · 2011-09-13 03:46 · Score: 4, Insightful

As if the hillbillies out in some of those valleys weren't batshit enough already, now they're inviting in a bunch of tinfoil-hatter paranoid schizos to stay. Expect a significant jump in alien abduction and anal probing reports (above even the current extremely high levels).
And before everyone gets all offended, I'm not saying EVERYONE is WVa is a hillbilly. But don't even THINK about pretending that *none* of them are. There are some fucking crazy dudes out in those hills, just ask the locals. Oh, not so much the doesn't-wear-shoes-and-makes/drinks-moonshine variety these days--more the has-a-shitload-of-guns-is-trigger-happy-and-makes/uses-crystal-meth types. Equally as violent/well-armed as their isolationist predecessors, but now they're tweaked up on meth and hallucinating too. Mixing those guys with a bunch of tinfoil-hatters who think radio waves are making them sick just cannot lead to happy-happy-joy-joy results. Though it is nice to cordon them off.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
1. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by c6gunner · 2011-09-13 03:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  There are some fucking crazy dudes out in those hills, just ask the locals.
  It's not nice to talk about the scientists at the radio telescope observatory that way. I would have thought a site dedicated to geek culture would be a bit more understanding ...
2. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by ColdWetDog · 2011-09-13 04:03 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Actually, FTFA, they HAVE banned most of those things directly around the Radio Telescope. Still and all, the poor afflicted darlings have probably never heard of the inverse square law. Or inverses. Or squares.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
3. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by MoonBuggy · 2011-09-13 04:06 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Too bad that the 'wireless quiet zone' only refers to a very narrow band of EM radiation.
  If it's enough to quell their psychosomatic symptoms while keeping them out of the way of the rest of us, I'd say it's a win.
4. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by elrous0 · 2011-09-13 04:06 · Score: 2
  
  Obviously an astronomer with mod points doesn't have a sense of humor. Hard to believe there's a humorless astronomer out there, but there you go.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
5. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by ColdWetDog · 2011-09-13 04:07 · Score: 2
  
  This is no joking matter. Have you ever had your ass probed by an alien? I suspect not, or you would temper your remarks.
  Well, I once had my butt chewed off by a supervisor who was pretty damned odd by any measure. Does that count?
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
6. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by hrieke · 2011-09-13 04:08 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Actually, having grown up there in West by god Virginia, I can tell you that the Greenbank radio observatory area is very lovely and populated with very smart people doing very good work.
  The Hillbillies that you are talking about are more from Bluefield.
  
  --
  III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIIIV IIVIIIIIIVIII...
7. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by MoonBuggy · 2011-09-13 04:10 · Score: 2
  
  I was thinking the same thing; although TFA does allude to a (apparently disputed) positive result from a double blind study, it doesn't provide a link to a published article, or even a name to look up.
8. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-13 04:15 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I'm not saying EVERYONE is WVa is a hillbilly.
  A reporter went way up into the hills of West Virginia to write an article
  about the area. He met an old man in a small town and asked him about any
  memorable events in his life.
  The old man said, "Well, one time my favorite sheep got lost, so me and my
  neighbors got some moonshine and went looking for it. We looked and looked
  and finally found the sheep. Then, we drank the moonshine and, one by one,
  started screwing the sheep. It was a lot of fun!"
  The reporter figured he can't write an article about that, so he asked the
  old man to tell him another story.
  The old man said, "Well, one time my neighbor's wife got lost, so me and
  all the village men got some moonshine and went out looking for her. We
  looked and looked and finally we found her. Then, we drank the moonshine
  and, one by one, screwed the neighbor's wife. Now, THAT was a lot of fun!"
  The reporter, feeling frustrated, told the old man that he couldn't write
  articles about those stories and asked him if he had any sad or dramatic
  memories that he could talk about.
  The old man paused a little and with a sad expression on his face said,
  "Well, one time I was lost ..."
9. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by MightyMartian · 2011-09-13 04:17 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Or the fucking sun, apparently. I trust they're all living several miles below ground.
  
  --
  The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
10. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by TheRaven64 · 2011-09-13 04:21 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  There was a story on Slashdot a couple of years ago about a mobile company that put up a mast in a village, and started getting complaints from people saying that the transmitter was giving them headaches and so on. They issued quite an amusing press release, saying that they were sorry and they hoped that the symptoms wouldn't get much worse next month when they turned the transmitter on...
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
11. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by ae1294 · 2011-09-13 04:25 · Score: 2
  
  something like a WiFi card can generate a strong enough signal that blows the amplifiers of the telescopes.
  Time for a trip to W. Virginia with my AWUS036H! Damn dirty scientist with their magnets. HOW DO THEY FUCKING WORK!
12. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by tomcode · 2011-09-13 04:34 · Score: 2
  
  I worked there one summer, and what surprised me, is that only diesel cars are allowed on site, because spark plugs cause interference.
  They keep a fleet of old diesels, originally bought in the 1950s. It gives the whole place a serious retro vibe. That and the fact that every morning I could set my mickey mouse watch to one of several atomic clocks made it a pretty cool place to work.
  
  --
  f u cn rd ths u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgmng
13. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by moonbender · 2011-09-13 04:35 · Score: 2
  
  Well, it has the name of the lead researcher and the journal. I'm pretty sure this is the study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21793784?dopt=Abstract
  
  --
  Switch back to Slashdot's D1 system.
14. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by thesh0ck · 2011-09-13 04:43 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  I bet she is going to be pissed when she finds out there is in fact radio transmissions there... quite a bit of them in fact. The ones that are banned are the ones from outsiders. They transmit thier own radio signals that are accounted for in the science, as are the goverenment radio signals. There is in fact more electro-magnetic radiation in that area than in a city. Its a true lack of understanding of anything in reality that makes these people do these things. After all... light is also electromagnetic radiation, and there is radio waves coming from the sun and stars but she doesnt mention anything about having problems in the sun or looking at the stars. Crackpot ignorant people.
15. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by inviolet · 2011-09-13 04:49 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  For years, I couldn't go into the electronics section of retailers because the TVs were screeching so loud that I couldn't think straight. Same goes for some of the devices that stores would use to detect those tags, the amount of power used in those cases is substantially higher, but it's really not productive to suggest that because a claim is strange that it must be false.
  In the case of televisions, we know that many humans can hear the 16-18KHz scan frequency they emit. And you're not hearing the electron beam itself; you are hearing tiny, electromagnetically-induced vibrations in the oscillator circuitry.
  Probably a similar explanation for the RFID scanners. An oscillating circuit can induce physical vibrations at some harmonic of its base frequency, if some component of the device just happens to be resonant at that harmonic.
  My point is, your experiences are easier explained as auditory coincidences than as RF sensitivity.
  
  --
  FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
16. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by vlm · 2011-09-13 04:59 · Score: 2
  
  I can even propose a theoretical reason why someone would feel a Wi-Fi signal. A half wave Wi-Fi antenna is 6.25 cm, or about 2.5 inches. It is entirely possible for the brain or some other part of the body to have a roughly straight conductive region that is that long—the walls of a particularly straight blood vessel, for example, or a series of overly (even dendritically) myelinated neurons lined up perfectly in a row—in which case you'd basically have a (poor) Wi-Fi antenna in your brain, coupled directly to your nervous system.
  You'd have an even bigger problem if you had any sort of metal implant that was just the right length, up to and including stupid things like the metal arm on a pair of eyeglasses, a wire on a retainer or pair of braces, etc.
  Unfortunately that antenna is embedded inside a highly conductive saline dielectric, that being your body. Model it in NEC for a good laugh. Also note the "RF skin effect" is very appropriately named in this case. You'll thermally/ohmically burn your skin long before you get individual neurons excited.
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
17. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by Grishnakh · 2011-09-13 05:00 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Spoken like someone who knows nothing of the south. Lemme guess, you come from California, right?
  No, WV is NOT part of the Bible Belt. It's not even part of the South. In fact, it split away from regular Virginia during the Civil War because that part of the state agreed with the Unionists, while the other part of the state became the capital of the Confederacy.
  The "Bible Belt" is really the Deep South, which is MS, AL, GA, etc. The people of WV probably have a lot more in common with the people of western PA and eastern KY than anyone in the Deep South.
18. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by Insightfill · 2011-09-13 05:03 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  There was a story on Slashdot a couple of years ago
  Probably this story from last January.
19. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by RsG · 2011-09-13 05:11 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Heard the same story, only it was a ham radio. It's likely apocryphal in any case, though it would not surprise me to learn there's an actual event obscured by the retelling.
  Regardless, the GP has the right idea. I've heard of blind tests of "EM sensitivity" done in the past, with results that unambiguously showed a purely psychosomatic condition - that is to say, the subjects felt sick when they believed they were being exposed, regardless of their actual exposure, and felt fine when they believed they were "safe". But to the patient, this is always going to be met with denial. "Can you believe that doctor thought it was all in my head! Where the hell did he learn medicine? I don't like being called crazy, I'm going to go to my homeopath for advice from now on!"
  Partly this is the fault of our culture labelling all mental health issues under the broad brush of "s/he's crazy". Nobody wants to admit that there could be anything wrong with their head, ergo all psychosomatic illnesses are attributed to external causes, sensible or otherwise. The prevalence of quacks and snake oil salesmen ready to cash in on the latest hysterical bandwagon only makes the problem worse.
  
  --
  Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
20. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by Nadaka · 2011-09-13 06:03 · Score: 2
  
  Umm... Most scientist would agree with, and self-apply those adjectives... We are fucking crazy dudes, and if were weren't, life would be so much less enjoyable!
  I was fucking crazy chicks, and it was very enjoyable except for the bite marks, but to each each their own.
21. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by Mr.+Slippery · 2011-09-13 07:33 · Score: 2
  
  For years, I couldn't go into the electronics section of retailers because the TVs were screeching so loud that I couldn't think straight.
  
  That's the flyback transformer. It makes a high-pitched whine in many TVs. I used to hear it when I was a kid -- I don't know if TVs have gotten quieter or I lost that range of hearing over the years, probably a bit of both. Nothing really to do with electromagnetic effects on the body.
  
  --
  Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
  You cannot wash away blood with blood
22. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by sarkeizen · 2011-09-13 07:51 · Score: 2
  
  You can read the study here:
  
  Oddly it's the only one not featured on the
  
  It's a little interesting but it is only one subject and I'm a little skeptical about the descriptions used by the subject for the symptoms.
23. Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy by bored · 2011-09-13 09:20 · Score: 2
  
  Starbuck's coffee bar in the lobby and cup holders on every chair.
  The amazing thing is that they cannot see their own hypocrisy even when its right in front of them. Next time your in church, next to the church bookstore/starbucks/etc, ask someone if they can remember the only time Jesus was angry/violent in the bible. Yah, that's right, the money changers and vendors selling goods for passover in the temple. I wonder what Jesus thinks about the "christian" stores that seem to be in every church now.
It's contagious, all right by Just+Some+Guy · 2011-09-13 03:52 · Score: 5, Insightful

Sorry, Diane, but you are contagious. Just as you learned of this invented disease from someone else, you've undoubtedly passed it along to another hypochondriac. Just because it's not transmitted by biological vectors doesn't mean that it can't spread from person to person.

--
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
1. Re:It's contagious, all right by madhatter256 · 2011-09-13 04:01 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  No use telling her... she won't be able to read this comment...
  
  --
  Previewing comments are for sissies!
2. Re:It's contagious, all right by trout007 · 2011-09-13 04:08 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  You are pretty close. I have environmental allergies (dust, pollen, ect). So I get allergy shots which builds up my tolerance. It works great. The same thing with peanuts. My kid had allergies and we had him tested for everything and he was allergic to peanuts. When he ate peanut butter he would get red in the face and complain about an itchy throat. They don't do shots for food. So we started building his tolerance by giving him smaller doses that he could handle an slowly built up. It is working just like the shots.
  So what you said is correct. If parents keep shielding their kids from things they are allergic to they will never build up immunity to them.
  
  --
  I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
3. Re:It's contagious, all right by OzPeter · 2011-09-13 04:44 · Score: 2
  
  You are pretty close. I have environmental allergies (dust, pollen, ect). So I get allergy shots which builds up my tolerance. It works great.
  
  I had a colleague who suggested that for pollen allergies that you locate local honey producers as that honey would work in the same manner as allergy shots. I don't know how true it is, but he swore by it
  
  --
  I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
4. Re:It's contagious, all right by savi · 2011-09-13 06:48 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Be careful. Some allergies, like food allergies or poison ivy, get WORSE with each exposure. Some people just have itchy throat from nuts until one day they stop breathing after eating some.
5. Re:It's contagious, all right by matfud · 2011-09-13 07:18 · Score: 2
  
  My mother 70 ish now shows allergic reactions to pretty much every test known to man. The only things she is actually allergic to are bee stings and penicillin. And she has ended up in hospital because of bee stings and was already in hospital (different reason) when she had a massive reaction to penicillin (not other antibiotics though) She has to wear a medic aid bracelet warning about penicillin now.
  So I don't have much confidence in those tests. If they show positive then your body is overreacting. but not necessarily in a way that is detrimental.
6. Re:It's contagious, all right by Macgrrl · 2011-09-13 19:22 · Score: 2
  
  I had a customer years ago who suffered severe hay fever and travelled for extened period internationally for work. He said the first thing he did when he moved to a new place was find the local aipary to source honey. He took a teaspoon daily to manage the symtpoms.
  
  --
  Sara
  Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
Wow by Gedvondur · 2011-09-13 03:53 · Score: 2

It's like a crazy-enclave. I think the easiest way to make these people realize that they are suffering from mental illness or delusional thoughts is to explain to them how many waves and what type pass through them every day, even in a radio-free enclave.
I just don't get this kind of irrational behavior. I think it has to be an illness similar to germaphobia.
1. Re:Wow by Amouth · 2011-09-13 04:10 · Score: 2
  
  i have an old CRT TV - and i get sick sitting in-front of it, that is if i'm watching any current media.. turn it off or watch a good old movie and the sickness goes away.
  
  --
  '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
From Wikipedia... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-13 03:54 · Score: 5, Informative

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity :
The majority of provocation trials to date have found that self-described sufferers of electromagnetic hypersensitivity are unable to distinguish between exposure to real and fake electromagnetic fields,[2][3] and it is not recognized as a medical condition by the medical or scientific communities.[4]
[2] Rubin, James; J Das Munshi J, Simon Wessely (March–April 2005). "Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: a systematic review of provocation studies". Psychosomatic Medicine 67 (2): 224–32. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000155664.13300.64. PMID 15784787.
[3] Röösli M (June 2008). "Radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure and non-specific symptoms of ill health: a systematic review". Environ. Res. 107 (2): 277–87. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.02.003. PMID 18359015.
[4] http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?q=%22Electromagnetic+hypersensitivity%22+&btnG.x=20&btnG.y=5&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&ud=1&site=default_collection
1. Re:From Wikipedia... by gfxguy · 2011-09-13 04:07 · Score: 2
  
  Majority can't tell = a minority CAN. I rather doubt most of these people, but I don't doubt it's possible.
  
  --
  Stupid sexy Flanders.
2. Re:From Wikipedia... by brit74 · 2011-09-13 05:00 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  > "It makes little difference in either context... a minority of trials have found people CAN distinguish"
  A minority of trials may have been setup badly (for example, not double blind). Also a minority of trials might've had positive results by chance. If people are completely unable to detect electromagnetic radition, then by pure random chance, you'd expect 50% of all trials to come up with results that are at least slightly positive, and 1 out of 20 trials will come up with statistically significant results.
  
  Imagine it this way: you try to guess how many times you can guess whether a coin will come up head or tails. If you have no psychic abilities, then you'd average about 5 out of 10. There will be some random variation around that number, however, so sometimes you'll come up with 8 right guesses out of 10. This doesn't mean you're actually psychic, even though that trial (of ten coin flips) came up with positive results. (This is why you can't say "a minority of coin-flipping trials have found that people can predict coin flips".)
  
  > What they need to do is filter out the ones who can't, and keep retesting the ones who can. All you need is ONE person that can do it a majority of the time.
  That's a fair statement, but it seems at odds with your earlier statement that "a minority of trials have found people CAN distinguish", which is false since you haven't established that a minority of people can distinguish. Positive trials are positive due to some combination of bad methodology, random chance, and real WIFI detecting ability.
3. Re:From Wikipedia... by Jthon · 2011-09-13 05:47 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  That's not radiation, that's because cheap CRTs tubes oscillate at 60 hertz and if you're not deaf in the upper frequencies you can hear them whine. Basically it's noise from the flyback transformer in the CRT. Many children can hear them but people often lose those frequencies as they get older.
  I can still hear when a cheap CRT is on but I don't claim to be allergic to wifi.
  See http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/crt/failWhine-c.html for some more info.
4. Re:From Wikipedia... by cvtan · 2011-09-13 06:45 · Score: 2
  
  Horizontal refresh rate for NTSC is 15734Hz and many people can hear that frequency. http://www.paradiso-design.net/videostandards_en.html
  
  --
  Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
5. Re:From Wikipedia... by zmooc · 2011-09-13 06:54 · Score: 2
  
  And now that we're finally getting rid of those CRTs, we're buried under switching power supplies in phone chargers and the like. They're even more annoying because they're not next to a noisy computer but typically next to my bed... Argl.
  
  --
  0x or or snor perron?!
Is it my imagination... by jbarr · 2011-09-13 03:56 · Score: 5, Interesting

I'm 45, and while the likes of the Internet and mass-media obviously provide significantly more information than we ever had in the past, I just don't remember so many people having food allergies, aversions, ADD, "sensitivities", or other maladies that are so abundant today. Is it because we are less ignorant and more informed of what were otherwise "hidden" issues, or have we physically evolved into people weaker constitutions?

--
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
1. Re:Is it my imagination... by Daniel_Staal · 2011-09-13 04:10 · Score: 2
  
  There's some of both. Partly it's better diagnosis and information about these different sensitivities: People are more likely to find out exactly what they are sensitive to, and be able to communicate it better to others. We are also making an effort to make public areas more open to people with these sensitivities, so someone who 20 years ago would just not eat out, now can go and find something on the menu tailored to them in many restaurants.
  But there's also the fact that people who grow up in near-sterile environments tend to have hair-trigger immune systems, and therefore are more likely to develop allergies in the first place. When your parents were raising you, they probably didn't sterilize every surface you touched with antibacterial cleaners. They kept it clean, but it wasn't hospital-clean. Many people your age have raised kids in environments that are hospital-clean, or nearly so. A foreign substance is an unusual event for their bodies, and it tends to react with a full-scale alarm. Even when that substance is just a new food, or some pollen.
  
  --
  'Sensible' is a curse word.
2. Re:Is it my imagination... by brusk · 2011-09-13 04:11 · Score: 2
  
  Don't forget that there used to be other illnesses such as female hysteria and neurasthenia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Historical_and_obsolete_mental_and_behavioural_disorders) that are no longer diagnosed. Conversely, behavior that was once within a normal spectrum might now be considered pathological (e.g., ADHD). So some change in apparent rates of disease have to do with shifting medical practices. That doesn't mean, for example, that some allergies have become more common.
  
  --
  .sig withheld by request
3. Re:Is it my imagination... by ColdWetDog · 2011-09-13 04:12 · Score: 2
  
  I'm 45, and while the likes of the Internet and mass-media obviously provide significantly more information than we ever had in the past, I just don't remember so many people having food allergies, aversions, ADD, "sensitivities", or other maladies that are so abundant today. Is it because we are less ignorant and more informed of what were otherwise "hidden" issues, or have we physically evolved into people weaker constitutions?
  Read up on the old medical literature (on the Internet of course). 'Hysteria', 'the vapours' and a host of other obviously psychosomatic maladies have been around for quite a long time. The current fad of blaming said problems on the environment (the 'sensitivities') is fairly recent. Previously the scapegoat was God, the Devil, Witches or similar malign influence. It's not surprising since we know that some of the many chemicals / radiations we're exposed to ARE really dangerous (pleased to step away from that tub of acetone if you don't mind). Just keep going along those lines and anything can be dangerous.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
4. Re:Is it my imagination... by jalefkowit · 2011-09-13 04:25 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  It's neither. The reason is because the environments we live in have become less dangerous. There's only so many hours in the day to worry about things, so the more dangerous things take priority. As we've removed more and more dangers through scientific and social progress, it has freed up room in our busy schedules to worry about less significant things.
  Think of it as a Maslow-style hierarchy of risks. You only start worrying about things higher on the hierarchy when you no longer have to worry about the things beneath it. At the bottom are things like "being eaten by bears." Then above that is "plague." Then above that is "being crushed by industrial machinery." And then above that is "peanut allergy."
  
  --
  Read my blog.
5. Re:Is it my imagination... by Just+Some+Guy · 2011-09-13 04:43 · Score: 2
  
  I haven't reached your august age but I've seen a lot of the same. I knew exactly one kid at school with a food allergy, and she couldn't eat large amounts of chocolate. That was the extent of the allergies my school had to content with.
  That said, two of my kids have been diagnosed with ADD (not ADHD). They simply could not concentrate on school stuff. For example, I'd watch my son try to do homework at the kitchen table, and he'd be fine for a little while until a neighborhood dog barked. Maybe the numbers on a clock would change and he'd turn to look at it. He'd work on a few more problems, then start playing the drums with his pencil. He's a good, well-behaved, smart, funny kid but couldn't focus on school stuff unless I physically sat next to him and yelled every time he got distracted. That certainly didn't help his enjoyment of learning.
  One day, he was nearly in tears and asked for our help because he'd tried everything and wanted to do better at school but couldn't do it on his own. A prescription for a non-stimulant medication later and his entire workflow changed. He's still the same kid, but is able to knock out his homework in a few minutes before going out to play.
  And know what? He's me. I wasn't any better at sitting still and working than he is. I could usually get all my work done before leaving school but I never was good at finishing homework. I wish they'd known more about ADD when I was a kid; I think things would've turned out a lot differently for me. I'm glad I can help my kids work through these problems until they're a little older and we can all work on good coping strategies together. (In my case, I discovered "Getting Things Done" which was a life-changer, but the kids are a little young to start in on it full-scale).
  
  --
  Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Logical treatment. by UncHellMatt · 2011-09-13 03:58 · Score: 5, Insightful

Really the best remedy would be homeopathy. What better way to treat an imagined allergy than an imagined cure?
1. Re:Logical treatment. by LateArthurDent · 2011-09-13 04:41 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I'm not really defending these people - I make no claims to be affected, and I'm sure most of them are hypochondriacs, but isn't it possible that, out of over 300 million people in the U.S., some of them might actually be more sensitive to the effects of electromagnetic fields than you?
  No, at least now how they describe it.
  They only complain about man-made electromagnetic fields. The Earth has this HUGE magnetic field, maybe you've heard of it. The Sun is positively bombarding us with electromagnetic radiation. Basically, the amount energy from man-made electromagnetic radiation you're exposed to on a regular basis is insignificant compared to the natural kinds. The only difference is that the man-made contains ordered signals instead of being purely random noise. It's limited to particular frequencies instead of being at a broader spectrum. These people moved to a place containing a large number of radio telescopes whose purpose is to, wait for it...detect electromagnetic signals.
  Apparently only man-made EM can trigger these people's allergies, which pretty much means that what these people are claiming is literally impossible. In addition, every single study done so far has shown that when you tell these people that you turned off the source of EM they think is the cause of their problem, they get better. Even if you lie to them about it, and the thing is still on. Similarly, if you tell them that you turned a device on, they'll suddenly start getting their headaches, even though nothing was turned on.
  Now, if you tell me that in a population of billions, there are some humans that are sensitive to electromagnetic fields in such a way that makes them good at finding north...I'm willing to believe that and run some tests. Sounds plausible and interesting.
2. Re:Logical treatment. by Belial6 · 2011-09-13 04:58 · Score: 2
  
  The problem is that they are claiming that they are only claiming to be affected by electromagnetic fields that they have been informed about. The symptoms disappear when they are around electromagnetic fields that they don't know about.
3. Re:Logical treatment. by LateArthurDent · 2011-09-13 06:04 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Is it?
  Yes, it is.
  
  Suppose any people who were sensitive to the naturally occurring EMF were filtered out by evolution?
  What I tried to say in my post is that there's essentially no difference. That's like saying that some people might be allergic to showers, but not rain. Oooh, the rain drops are more organized when they come out of the shower head. It doesn't matter, it's still water.
  
  Again, I'm not defending these people because, like most of the readers here, I really doubt their claims... but it surely seems like it's at least possible that people can be affected by EMFs... not like turning a switch on and off, but overall mood.
  Maybe, but that's not what they're saying. They're saying they get affected by wifi and cell towers and nothing else. That's like the showerhead vs. rain example. It's stupidly insane.
Doesn't need to be ionizing to have an effect by Chirs · 2011-09-13 03:59 · Score: 2

I personally have no problems with electronics...I work in front of a computer all day.
That said, it's been shown that cell phone radiation can cause brain activity. Is it such a stretch to imagine that under some circumstances some people could experience that brain activity in a negative way?
I can't find a reference, but I seem to remember my psychology class covering people that could get skin burns because they were touched with a piece of metal that they *thought* was hot, but really wasn't. If the mind can do that, it seems plausible it could cause other symptoms.
1. Re:Doesn't need to be ionizing to have an effect by MoonBuggy · 2011-09-13 04:13 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Totally impossible? No. That's why we have scientific tests and double-blind studies; until I see a paper published in a respected journal indicating a positive result (the case study alluded to by TFA is seriously short on details, and apparently disputed), however, I'm happy to write this off as a psychological issue.
2. Re:Doesn't need to be ionizing to have an effect by Omnifarious · 2011-09-13 04:15 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I can't find a reference, but I seem to remember my psychology class covering people that could get skin burns because they were touched with a piece of metal that they *thought* was hot, but really wasn't. If the mind can do that, it seems plausible it could cause other symptoms.
  Yes, the brain of someone convinced of a fallacy regarding their health is capable of making them feel all kinds of symptoms. But it wasn't the piece of metal that caused the skin burns.
  
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FFS RTF Links - Radio is not banned there by OzPeter · 2011-09-13 04:04 · Score: 4, Informative

The first link in TFA is all about an additional approval process required for transmitters in the region so that they do not adversely affect the Radio Telescopes. The second link says basically the same thing.

Come back Taco .. we miss you.

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I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
1. Re:FFS RTF Links - Radio is not banned there by ColdWetDog · 2011-09-13 04:21 · Score: 2
  
  The first link in TFA is all about an additional approval process required for transmitters in the region so that they do not adversely affect the Radio Telescopes. The second link says basically the same thing.
  Come back Taco .. we miss you.
  We've had dupes for years. Now they're just in the same article. It's progress, you Luddite.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Radios are not banned there by leighklotz · 2011-09-13 04:06 · Score: 2

Radio transmitters are not banned there. Licensed ham stations have minimal limitations: for example, the main amateur radio restriction is that it's not allowed without permission to establish a "beacon" (transmit-only) station, and those themselves are already limited to 28 MHz and up anywhere in the US.
Sadly I don't think it's just your imagination.... by arcite · 2011-09-13 04:08 · Score: 3, Interesting

Perhaps its precisely due to the internet that we have so many people acting on their neurotic tendencies. With 24/7 access to the 'net and the ability to look up any information desired, we can self-diagnose ourselves like never before. We're now so afraid of disease that we sterilize our homes (and ourselves) to such an extent that our own bodies immune system turns on us. We believe in conspiracy theories, listen to Internet bloggers, form social circles and 'friend' celebrity actors who promote ideologies based on nothing more than being critical of the status-quo (or for it). Critical through is thrown out the window in favor of demagoguery. Oh well, at least this set of self-diagnosed, technologically persecuted individuals can find peace among the dense Virginia forests, safe from harming wider society.
Re:Sure, maybe these guys are crazy... by fahrbot-bot · 2011-09-13 04:14 · Score: 2

If magnets set on one side of the brain or the other cause us to lie or tell the truth?

Sure, but the magnetic field strength for TMS is about the same as for an MRI, held about 5 inches from the brain. Do you regularly stand 5 inches from an AM/FM broadcast antenna? There's no "maybe", these guys are crazy.

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It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Re:Sure, maybe these guys are crazy... by ColdWetDog · 2011-09-13 04:18 · Score: 3, Informative

I'm pretty sure we have no idea what wifi, cellphones, etc. are doing to us.

Yes we do. We've studied it do death. At the absolute worst it might cause a tiny, tiny bit of increase in certain cancers and / or cause some local radiative effects near the antenna. It probably doesn't cause anything above the noise floor of people dying from the Usual Suspects. In other words, if you're worried about that cell phone, put down the damned cigarette first. And buckle your seat belt.

It's like how mercury was first treated... we all just think it's fine and laugh at anyone who says otherwise because we don't experience the problem or haven't seen it with our own eyes. But, we really have no idea.
Actually, Mercury was readily identified as an industrial poison soon after it became widely used (Mad as a Hatter).

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Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
I used to be afraid of EM but not anymore by rjforster · 2011-09-13 04:21 · Score: 3, Funny

Don't get me wrong, I'm terribly allergic to wifi, mobile phones, even a microwave oven being used next door but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter much. You see, I'm also allergic to neutrinos. Do you know how many of those things pass through my body every single second. Oh it causes me so much pain you just wouldn't believe. :-)
Re:Tinfoil Hat? by Greyfox · 2011-09-13 05:12 · Score: 2

Or my patented Faraday Hat(tm). Now how much would you pay for a hat that protects your sensitive brain from harmful electromagnetic radiation? $49.99? $89.99? Well you can have yours today for the low, low price of $29.99! Statements not evaluated by the FDA.

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I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I worked for NRAO Quiet Zone enforcement by CaptainPhoton · 2011-09-13 08:14 · Score: 2

I worked at this observatory in the 90's to help enforce the quiet zone. The people in the area were highly educated, not typical hillbillies. I met a few nobel prize winners and had the opportunity to meet Grote Reber who was there one summer delivering his memoirs to the observatory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grote_Reber
Green Bank has easy access to a ski resert, whitewater rafting, caving, rockclimbing, and mountain biking. That part of W Va is quite an outdoor sports mecca. The location and the people should not be dissed at all, since they are exceptional compared to the average Slashdotter!
The quiet zone is a regulatory creation, and I know local folks in the area sometimes had non-compliant transmitters. For those obsessed with EM, note that just because there's a regulatory quiet zone, it doesn't mean that people aren't still using Wi-Fi. They just haven't been busted yet!
It was usually only an issue if an astronomer complained about interference swamping out their observations. The interfering frequency would have to be in the RF passband of the observation. If the signal source was in the band, it still has to be in the beam of the antenna or couple into the system via cabling, etc. to be a problem.
There is a schedule that shows which receiver is installed for the observations being done today:
https://dss.gb.nrao.edu/schedule/public
If interference was seen, we tried to identify the modulation on a spectrum analyzer to decide if it was a faraway source such as a TV transmitter, satellite, or aircraft. We had a communications receiver where we could snoop conversations to identify the nature of the broadcast. If we suspected a local source, we would drive around town in a truck fitted with a spectrum analyzer and a directional antenna. When we found the source, we would help the individual or organization come to compliance. Interference could be nonintentional, such as power lines or even a farmer's tractor. :)
I have fond memories of the observatory, I got to experience Ethernet when it was coax and TCP/IP before the Web existed! (Gopher, Archie, telnet BBSes and such). One former employee ran a MUD at the observatory that wasn't discovered for years. If that's not Slashdot-worthy, I don't know what is! :)