Here is Nick Pineaultβs description of popular pseudo-science: βScience is not a thing, or a person. If it were a real person, it would be the weirdest bipolar guy Iβve ever metβsomeone whoβs clearly unstable, unpredictable, probably dangerous and who seems to change his mind every other day.β This book is about the technology that generates electromagnetic fields (EMFs). This includes cell phones, Wi-Fi, power lines and just about any electronic device. The popular thinking is that all these toys make life better. How did we ever get along without them?
Pineault examines the devicesβ social, psychological and physical impact. As one example, a lot of people are so busy playing βAngry Birdsβ on their smartphone that they donβt have time to talk to you. They donβt even have time to look where they are going, and they walk into things like walls, traffic or open manholes. The more connected they are to electronic devices, the less connected they are to real people.
The telecom industry rigs its studies to show that its products are perfectly safe. Good thing we have government to oversee the industry, right? Unfortunately, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 says companies cannot be held liable for any negative health effects from their towers and antennas. To me, that means the industry can do whatever it wants; if people get hurt, our government does not care.
Industry carried out cell phone safety testing decades ago on a dummy that simulated a two-hundred-and-twenty-pound man. This approach seemed to assume that large men are the most vulnerable to EMFsβso if these men are OK, we all are OK. Many βexpertsβ like to claim that because these devices emit non-ionizing radiation, they do not cause cancer. That sounds great until you start looking at all the studies showing that non-ionizing radiation does cause cancer.
Some new products are hard to believe. Apparently, toilets just arenβt smart enough, so companies have designed the iPotty. I found a link on Amazon, where I learned that βParents can give children a comfortable and fun place to learn to use the potty.β Wow, that sounds better than a magazine rack in the bathroom! However, Amazon says the iPotty is not currently available. One potential customer couldnβt resist asking, βDoes it include a gift card to download βAngry Turdsβ from the App Store?β Someone else asked: βCan I get one in adult size? With wheels and a motor to run errands around town?β Letβs get one for each workstation at the office. We would never have to budge from our desks. Productivity will hit an all-time high.
If you think weβve hit bottom now, oh no, not yet. Now we also have Bluetooth diapers that will send an alert to your smartphone when they need to be changed. These are available on Amazon and will set you back fifty-five dollars. This is why we need 5G. The Internet of Things will connect everything down to our underwear.
You may want to rethink installing a βsmartβ TV in the bedroom (or next to that magazine rack). Samsung recommends that customers not discuss personal matters around their βsmartβ TV even when turned off, because it is listening and will sell the information to a third party.
How do we protect ourselves? First, when buying a device, ask yourself whether you really need it. You can be very sure that if it has the word βsmart,β it is not smart. If you must buy it, do you need to leave it turned on all the time? Does it need to be by your head when you sleep? Do you need to carry it around in your underwear? If the answer to any of these is βyes,β you will probably need help from experts in electronics or psychiatry to lower the risk.
This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation,Β Fall 2019
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So getting a Smart TV so I could watch YouTube videos to learn was stupid? Now what? What tv do you recommend?