Panorama's "Wireless in schools" Program 8:30 Tonight

[plexer]

I asked in staff briefing this morning if anyone had watched the programme and only 1 person had.

 

I reassured her that I had a tin foil hat in my office for her if she felt the need for it.

 

Ben

[mattx]

oow are you mocking Baco Woman

 

Someone has to - could not stop laughing when I saw her house. Changing Rooms eat your heart out !!

Still she got her 5 mins of fame - if I was interviewing her I don't think I could keep a straight face - I would have to keep making beeping sounds and running out in the garden pointing at the sky.....

[Skoggmeiger]

Again, people are now mocking this women.

 

Why ? Because she deserved it.

How did she get to Sweden ? In a plane I would like to guess. How did she cope with the cosmic radiation ?

So thats ONE person in the UK which has a population of around 70 million.

If she is THAT concerned then she should move.

 

Now you are suggesting that cosmic radiation and Wi-Fi have the same effects. She is one person that we know about. It's not as if thousands of people can suddenly go to their Doctor and say "I'm suffering from Wi-Fi signals" Why? Because they might not know what it is that is affecting them.

[mattx]

Here is one I made earlier:

 

http://www.neatorama.com/images/2006-08/tinfoil-helmet-study.jpg

 

 

P.S. This is not me, I just googled Tin Foil Hats 8O

[apeo]

 

Now you are suggesting that cosmic radiation and Wi-Fi have the same effects. She is one person that we know about. It's not as if thousands of people can suddenly go to their Doctor and say "I'm suffering from Wi-Fi signals" Why? Because they might not know what it is that is affecting them.

 

I believe tinfoil woman is supposed to be sensitive to all such "radiation" so yes the effect of cosmic should be a factor shouldnt it.

[apeo]

Here is one I made earlier:

 

No mate thats the hat to protect you from alien probes.

[mattx]

She is one person that we know about.

 

And thank god for that.

 

It's not as if thousands of people can suddenly go to their Doctor and say "I'm suffering from Wi-Fi signals"

 

Thats because they aren't.

[Mr_T]

Here is one I made earlier:

 

No mate thats the hat to protect you from alien probes.

 

I though you needed steel underpants to protect you from alien probes!

[mattx]

Baco Foil / Tin Foil Woman has a pet cat too !!

 

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g24/bouwerieboy/catInTinfoil.jpg

[localzuk]

The human mind is so easy to influence into thinking it is suffering from something - that is the reason placebo's are so effective (ie. homeopathy).

 

If I go into a room full of people and start talking about the dangers of wifi radiation and then mention that I get headaches from it, I can guarantee that at least 1 of the people in there will start having symptoms of some sort.

 

We develop symptoms based on our fears.

[Halfmad]

Personally I think we should drown all Wifi access points, if they die we know they weren't causing harm!

 

or burn them! same principle!

[localzuk]

Hmm... One thing that is apparent from this:

 

Edugeeks are incredibly sarcastic!

[dave.81]

I've just read this whole post as i missed the program last nite... this is the funniest post i've read in years...

[apeo]

Here is one I made earlier:

 

No mate thats the hat to protect you from alien probes.

 

I though you needed steel underpants to protect you from alien probes!

 

Yeah you need that for the anal probes.. i meant the mind altering rays from the mothership....

 

@mattx:

[GrumbleDook]

Part of me says that we do not know of any effects apart from a few people with conditions that may not be attributable to the use of Wi-Fi, but the extra EM radiation that abounds in the modern world.

 

I am light sensitive. I where shades most of the time and if I am in London at night I have been known to where them due to the amount of light pollution.

 

I do not ask people to turn off their lights as I know that it can be managed.

 

This is a genetic predisposition. I also have a speech impediment ... I have trouble with my Rs. I try to craft my spoken sentences to say different words instead (a bit difficult recently when talking about our behaviour tracking system and its ability to rank pupils due to naughtiness).

 

Sensitivity to certain natural and man-made factors is something that has occured for years. You can look at certain islands (Galapagos) for examples of how the environment changes things over a period of time.

 

Even if it is proved that the types of EM raditiation that occurs in schools (or other areas) may be harmful to a tiny minority of people does that mean that everyone else has to do without?

 

Do we tell the school canteen not to come into contact with nuts as we know that we have one student here with a severe allergy to cashew nuts?

 

No, it is managed and dealt with.

 

The main objection is that the programme was so one sided it seemed that it just wanted to create a media mob frenzy. If the idea of the show was to encourage the Govt to do more research then fine ... but they target a vunerable group who do not have the legal backing to tell them to wind their necks in. They play on the fears of parents rather than trying to do a measured scientific approach.

 

I will be asking for further guidance from those further up the ladder politically at the LA and DfES, but this is becoming a political thing rather than based on science.

[dave.81]

Note this updated report from the BBC late last

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6676129.stm

[petectid]

a signal reading wil be much higher inside, because the signal is bouncing around in basically a steel structure. I thaught the report was complete jibberish, and all they have done is confused the public.

 

and that woman with aluminium wallpaper.....move house. did yu notice how they never said how close the mast was to her house?

 

You’re referring to multi-path you get this both indoors and outdoors. What got me about the engineers testing method was he stood next to a laptop that could also have been broadcasting. While taking a reading for the mast outside there was no mobile being used next to his meter? He made no mention of background noise which is present in all built up areas.

[bishopsgarthstockton]

Got me suit on

 

[bishopsgarthstockton]

Got me suit on

 

[apeo]

 

@GrumbleDook: Totally Agree.

[GrumbleDook]

Ok, people asked for a survey ... you have a survey.

[apeo]

Just wondered but i remember that panorama stated that the safety levels are based on Thermal interaction and nothing else but what else could they set the levels to? I dont think it actually stated what else it could set levels to.

[Wildebeaste]

As has been mentioned before, there's a very very long list of things that obviously need to be banned because they haven't been tested and found to be absolutely safe; diesel, flight, crisps, aspirin, radio, television, toast, milk...

To clarify - you're suggesting that WiFi is no more dangerous than diesel which has been found to contain (among other things) benzine, and aspirin which is no longer permitted for use by children under 12? Not sure I like your examples of "safe" household items there. Perhaps if WiFi is as dangerous as those, then we should sit up and take action...

 

You're misunderstanding.

 

I wasn't giving examples of 'safe' items - only things we constantly use and which aren't guaranteed 100% safe. My point was that you can't prove anything is harmless.

 

We accept the hazards that may come with these products ( or future hazards) because of the utility they give us now. This has always been the case.

[enjay]

Do any of you have vested interests in Wi-Fi? Why so resolute in your defence of it?

No, I have no commercial interests in WiFi. I am not resolutely defending it no matter what, simply defending it against poorly-researched sensationalist journalism. Give me something even vaguely concrete on it, and I will act according; give me a laughable "documentary" and I'll laugh at it.

[enjay]

Don't get me wrong, I use Wi-Fi at home, but I'll be bluntly honest and tell you that after a few hours infront of my laptop, I feel like sh*t!

Ah, but how much of that is definitively the WiFi and not other ambient radiation levels from your laptop or any other electrical devices in the room, or indeed other factors such as eye-strain from staring at the screen, poor lighting in your room, incorrect seating position, the mobile on the desk next to you, etc etc etc.

 

Try turning off the WiFi (access point and laptop) and see if you feel any different. Then and only then would you have anything to go on, and even that would just be one person's opinion and not any quality research.