School Bans Wi-Fi Over Heatlh Concerns

[Spencer Petersen]

This is what happens when a school board makes decisions based entirely on hoaxed internet videos and rumors

 

[nebtheslayer95]

or, widespread "sickness" could have been caused because the school sucked and nobody wanted to go there?

 

[Flac00]

Not a fan of wireless, myself.
Just using a mobile makes my head feel weird.

There's something more than people imagining things going on with the microwaves being emmited from wireless devices, if you were to ask me, anyway.

I wouldn't because your crazy. Cell phone and wifi do not release enough radiation to even slightly effect you. Plus, do you know how much radiation flys around you every day? Sunlight; thats a lot of radiation; radio-waves; radiation too; gamma rays; don't try to hide from them since they go through the earth. It is ridiculous to think that radiation from cell phones and especially wifi is dangerous, or that it is effecting you. So than why are you feeling weird when cell phones are next to you? Well I have a few hypothesis: 1-its all in your mind 2-you are using a cellphone from 1980, in which case there is radiation beating into your skull (that stuff stopped after 1985 anyway) 3-your cell phone is making a noise that hurts your head like the high pitched winy noise that older TVs made 4-(the most likely) you have never actually felt anything from your cell phone before, but now after reading a story on some misinformed and overprotective parents, you suddenly "feel it". You scaring yourself into believing it, the only damage that cell phone is doing to you is making you paranoid. It is like an evil placebo.

 

[MikailCaboose]

...I'm around Wi-Fi practically 24/7. And I feel absolutely great! Why do I think that this is just a classic example of false correlation being taken to the absolute of seriousness...

Not that I believe this story, but do you see the irony in saying that you, personally, feel fine in the presence of wireless, and because of that the logical conclusion if that they are confusing correlation with causation?

Since I've seen a bunch of conflicting studies, it's the best that I can really do to be honest... And yes that pretty much destroys my statement, but oh well.

 

[Unesh52]

There is enough anecdotal evidence from parents that this is worth looking into."

And that is all it is for now, just saying. So no, not all schools across Canada should be doing this. Blaming Wi-Fi is a post-hoc rationalization and that's it. The students likely all ate lunch that day; you could just as reliably blame the milk.

Wi-Fi utilises microwave radiation to send signals, you know the same stuff thats cooks your pizza pockets in a microwave. It has been know to cause cancer and other illnesses, personally after prolonged exposer to Wi-Fi i get migranes, sometimes these can be serious other times they are just a nuicence; on another note because wi-fi and microwave radiation is becoming more populer more and more people (including children) are having migranes and other possibly dangerous health issues.

[img_inline src=http://www.cultofmac.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/phoenix-wright-objection.jpg height=120 align=left]

First of all, source!

Second of all, "microwaves" is a name given to a vast portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, most of which is too low in frequency to harm us, and is constantly flitting about all around us un-bidden, from many sources. It's almost certainly passing through you as you read this.

Your whole argument is specious.

...That being said, I don't actually know either way whether Wi-fi has negative health effects, I'm just commenting on the structure of your argument that it does. I'm perfectly willing to side with the experts referenced in the article though; I'll say there's not enough evidence to support the claim of the Canadian school.

 

[SinisterGehe]

I have been surrounded by wireless transmitters (Different types and frequecies same time) all my life. I have spent my child hood 2-6 next to high voltage power line that was next to my nursery. I have been sitting front of computer(s) since 4. I have been using many extremely strong electrical devices in my life for years.

I have bee diagnosed with CRPS and Dystonia on my right hand... (Bare with me here)





And it was all because of a birth defect I had as a child, I was born with my left leg paralyzed (till I was 3 I couldn't use it), so my Motoric nerve system has grown bit off and that has been diagnosed as reason for my Hands injury.
I got know a man who been working in Electric plant as Reactor technician for 26 years and hes perfectly healthy.


Some people... Man this just gives me depressing image of what is happening behind the pond...

 

[Rhiehn]

The sun gives off more microwaves than all the Wi-fi in the world, admittedly I have no source, but all kinds of electromagnetic radiation comes from the sun.

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

Probably one or two kids got a cold, then some nervous other kids were worried and convinced themselves they were sick.

 

[Tim Latshaw]

You know another way kids get sick at school? By being stuffed in rooms full of their germ-infested classmates. I hope that was considered, too.

So if you installed wi-fi in a school, and a ton of people got sick RIGHT afterwards, but got better once it was out, you'd simply blame a random cold?

Nowhere does it say in the sources cited here that the children felt sick directly after the installation. Unless you have another source, we have to assume it could have been anywhere from a matter of hours to days or even (although unlikely) weeks.

I implied that an infection should be considered, and I don't see where I'm out of bounds for doing so. In school-like environments, a bunch of kids get sick around the same time, then recover around the same time... all the time. The fact that it could have happened around the time ANY sort of change was made at the school, let alone the installation of WiFi, is considerable.

 

[ssgt splatter]

Wow. This is so stupid. Maybe it was something virus related and not the Wi-Fi signal. I'll bet that if they reinstall the Wi-Fi it won't happen again.

 

[Arehexes]

I'm going to freak the hell out when I walk through a metal detector saying it hurts my brain lol.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Because we have had this technology for 100 years right?

I see you as one of those people that saw asbestos as a good thing too eh? Shit, they used that for years before they actually found out that it was VERY deadly. But hey, who are we to argue with that logic of yours?

1. I was refering to powerlines, that's my mistake for not making it more clear.
2. People knew the dangers of asbestos a thousand years from what I've looked up. It sounds more like an issue with companies doctoring studies then a lack of knowledge of the side effects. Wikipedia uses the quote "easy demonstratable" in reference to the early knowledge of the dangers, that's exactly what Wifi lacks. We've tested ... we've looked at surveys and studies and all we find it people reporting vague symptoms the moment they actually get told theres a transmitter nearby. This isn't a case of people not testing or ignoring what has been shown, nothing CONCRETE has been shown.

If these symptoms are so hard to detect then what would you have us do? Abandon all Wifi technology based purely on odd "testimonies" and general superstition?
I'm betting at this point you'd planned on replying "until we have a better understanding" but when will we have that understanding since we're testing for something that we cant currently detect that could cause harm?
Why can't we detect it now? When WILL we be able to detect it? Will it be any different in a thousand million years time? Sure we'll know how the radiation interacts with us better but will we be able to say that it doesnt interact in a way we can't yet detect yet then?

I doubt it. That's like asking an atheist to go agnostic until they have the technology to detect whether or not theres a god.


TL;DR: From where I'm sitting you're saying we can't disprove Wi Fi causing harm because we lack the knowledge and technology to see what harm it cuases; to be specific, that "we dont know everything about radiation"... when WILL we? Will we ever? How will we know we do? This means that you can NEVER disprove that Wi Fi causes illness as long as people continue to complain about it. If there's solid proof of any harm then we'll stop but until then expect Wi Fi to keep going strong.

 

[Booze Zombie]

You scaring yourself into believing it, the only damage that cell phone is doing to you is making you paranoid. It is like an evil placebo.

Actually, I don't feel at ease unless all of the electronics are off in my house... which is strange, as I love using them.
Maybe I'm just sensitive to electronics?

Anyway, if there is an issue with micro-waves and people, I doubt the companies would tell us... but I'm not dead yet and my head still works properly.

I just don't like that strange sensation in my head, is all.

 

[The Random One]

I'm probably way more paranoid about this than a sensible skeptic should be, but I don't trust wi-fi. Electrons EVERYWHERE

Sometimes I feel I'm the only luddite techie in the world.

 

[steamweedlegoblin]

The point of this story can thus be summed up as: people are stupid.

On second thought, that can sum up the point of most news stories if you ask me.

 

[ICanBreakTheseCuffs]

um....why would a elementary school have wifi?they aren't taking tests on their phones right?elementary schools usually don't use computers right?so they must be faking it right?

[HEADING=1]RIGHT?[/HEADING]

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

You know another way kids get sick at school? By being stuffed in rooms full of their germ-infested classmates. I hope that was considered, too.

Oh I'm sure it wasn't.

I was going to say that it was probably just bad timing, and that a stomach virus probably went around or something right after the wi-fi got put in, and idiot parents flipped the fuck out.

 

[Nailz]

Anecdotal? Seriously? When people don't bother to use the proper words to stress what they are trying to say, they are only making themselves sound as dumb as they really are.

The plural of anecdotal is data as far as I'm concerned. To say that a majority of people are deluded about their own experience is a much more extraordinary claim than anything in this article. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence no? Where's yours?

Get a good double blind study going before you yell the ears off of concerned parents for actually believing their kids are not all schizophrenic and deluded.

I also bet you that a portion of the parents who got it removed are a good bit more intelligent than you are sir, so I would hesitate before calling them dumb as a knee jerk response because someone removed your wifi.

I say neither yay nor nay on this issue until we get some unilateral movement towards prolonged and extensive scientific testing.

 

[ninjajoeman]

wow to be honest I was not expecting that to be their excuse.

 

[mr_rubino]

Anecdotal? Seriously? When people don't bother to use the proper words to stress what they are trying to say, they are only making themselves sound as dumb as they really are.

The plural of anecdotal is data as far as I'm concerned. To say that a majority of people are deluded about their own experience is a much more extraordinary claim than anything in this article. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence no? Where's yours?

Get a good double blind study going before you yell the ears off of concerned parents for actually believing their kids are not all schizophrenic and deluded.

I also bet you that a portion of the parents who got it removed are a good bit more intelligent than you are sir, so I would hesitate before calling them dumb as a knee jerk response because someone removed your wifi.

I say neither yay nor nay on this issue until we get some unilateral movement towards prolonged and extensive scientific testing.

Aaaaand once again, we get to call the paranoid ramblings of a small localized handful of people out of the billions of people on this planet whose experiences have gelled completely with all known facts about Phenomenon X "scientific data" because, hey, it's not like the term has any meaning or importance any more anyway.
For one, it seems they can override actual research and study, so I guess they really are just as good. "Teach the controversy", eh Nailzy? We can't go around using scary new technology until we have disproven all unknown dangers.