Any actual proof that this exists? Or is it one for the (literal) tinfoil hat wearing whack jobs only? Not dug up anything legit looking online.

Interesting story developing at work (that fortunately is other people’s problem).

Never be surprised!

Plus it’s in the Daily Mail, so it must be true 🙂

http://goo.gl/re2sYt

Up to 5 per cent of the population — more than 3 million people — believe they are affected by some degree of electro-sensitivity, an allergy to the radiowaves and microwaves emitted by devices.

I thought there were way more idiots in this country

There are, but they are a diverse bunch.

More than 5% of the population believe all kinds of rubbish.

I personally avoid wifi as much as possible so that means using a cable in the pc and printer, have also made a conscious decision to use a mobile as little as possible and, yes, it can be done. People can believe what they want.

People can believe what they want.

And if others think it’s silly they can say so too.

What about the radio waves going into the telly? Do you make sure you are out of line of the tv and transmitter?

If you line the inside of a bike helmet with tinfoil it will protect you from harmful waves in the air.

But what is all that data doing? All those 0s and 1s flying about the place.
It’s quite freaky when you think about it.

Dr Andrew Goldsworthy – The Biological Effects of Weak Electromagnetic Fields

I think there were some double blinds around mobile masts where people were asked to report symptoms when the mast was on and off, only they did some where they switched it on and told them it was off. Symptoms were very much around belief and suggestion. With stuff being blamed on the mast.

Apparently the 0s are fine, it’s the 1s that give you the headaches

Someone really needs to tell those scientists what an abstract is
Can you let me know where it was peer reviewed? FWIW it is internet published only.
No offence but you have scoured the internet and found one person[ whose field is plant biology – retired] who agrees with you. It is still not true

Is there a homeopathic remedy that will help?

I suspect it may be a little in the head as I know someone who claims they are affected by the WiFi in a building I am sometimes in so it gets switched off and they are happy. The fact that there are another 30 odd transmitters around doesn’t seem to matter

I don’t mind though as I don’t need it on at that point and it makes then happy. Seems like a win as they worry about it a good bit and being logical about it doesn’t help.

It’s nice to be able to put “Dr” in front of your name when making statements about supposed wireless sensitivity in humans, but it’s probably a bit misleading when you’re a doctor of botany.

cinnamon_girl – Member
I personally avoid wifi as much as possible

Is this even possible these days?

Do you walk the street with a wifi detector? 😆

In my flat alone I can see about 7 wifi networks!

plus how to do you deal with the issue of 3 and 4g networks? 😆

Doing a little more research I think texting and mobile data causes acne based on the number of spotty teenagers glued to their phones on the train this morning.

Certainly seems odd that people are constantly being bombarded by radio waves (both artificial and naturally occurring) but for some reason waves in the wifi frequencies make them ill.

Especially odd as these days it’s rare that I can’t pick up at least one wifi signal on my phone in any urban environment.

I think we’ve established it’s the ones causing the problems? Well take a one, add 99 zeros, then hit your wifi on a leather covered board. Repeat that 30 times and you have the perfect remedy.

Have you tried just telling them it’s been switched off?

Maybe its more about belief than truth, if you believe something to be true then youll search and find all kind of information to back up your belief (whether it is actually true or not)!!

It’s been established beyond doubt that there are some people who suffer grievously from wifi exposure, but only if they know they’re being exposed to wifi. This is caused by wifi sensitivity in the Wifi Exposure Knowledge Gland in the brain. These people are perfectly safe from wifi unless the WEKG is being stimulated.

dyls – Member

Maybe its more about belief than truth, if you believe something to be true then youll search and find all kind of information to back up your belief (whether it is actually true or not)!!

Which makes woo merchants terrorists, I suppose.

Thing is, thing is… There’s a danger here that you end up painting everyone with the same brush. It’s entirely possible that there are people who do suffer genuine rf sensitivity, or similiar. But it definitely is the case that there’s a lot of frauds, deluded people and quacks out there. I suppose if I felt I was a genuine sufferer I’d be angry at people taking the piss; but I also reckon the people they should really be angry at, are the frauds and quacks.

(people take the piss out of “gluten sensitivity” since most people who’re “gluten sensitive” are actually just cocks. Which is a pain when you’re an actual coeliac. But I don’t know if, in this metaphor, there are actual radiocoeliacs. OTOH I can get better cakes because of “gluten insensitive” people. So all in all this is a bloody awful metaphor)

Weak electromagnetic fields? Everybody with 240V AC in their house is stuffed then…

Lots of studies, lots of different results. If there’s a link between electromagnetic radiation and various diseases it’s not big enough to get above the statistical noise. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a link, it just means a causal link cannot be proven by statistical analysis. It can’t be disproven either.

Some studies showing a link have been published in respectable journals.

re: the OP’s issue.

I’d *love* it if they just built a Faraday cage around the complainants desk to ‘protect’ them 🙂

Thanks for thoughts.

As I say, this is going to be an interesting one to watch at work for me. A (fee paying) parent has come in and (without authority) physically removed/destroyed the building’s wifi routers, claiming their presence was causing their child headaches, after the school refused to remove them or turn them off.

Fee paying parent, damage to property, removal of access to network for remainder of the community, claims of negligence to child’s health and an ‘interesting’ parent….. it’s got the ingredients of a great afternoon of people watching!

‘interesting’ parent.

Oh, there are a few of them around….
I expect full commentary commentary, as if it was horse race…

Have you tried just telling them it’s been switched off?

I’ve thought about it but they are friends so I would rather just be straight with them. I had another friend in Edinburgh who went a bit crazy thinking that everyone was plotting against him so I tread carefully with this stuff where there may already be issues. I’ve looked into it a bit for them and haven’t found any evidence that there is an issue so far

We had some leaflets through our door when living in Dorchester years ago – something about the locals complaining about a ‘999/emergency broadcast mast’ being placed near a rural village to, you know, help the emergency services serve the area.
The leaflet was full of all sorts of pseudo science talking about the wavelength and the amplitude, being dangerous, or something…

I think the upshot was that they wanted the mast further away, but according to their own ‘science’ the further it was, the higher the actual risk became (i think because amplitude needed boosting…)
This was lost on them when I pointed it out.
I think they just didn’t want a mast, TBH.

DrP

Slightly OT….
I worked with a chap who was sensitive to mobile phone signals – using one used to give him a headache (topic of conversation/other party might have played a part 🙂 ).
If you put your phone on the table near him he could tell when a text message was about to arrive. Bit spooky…

What about the radio waves going into the telly? Do you make sure you are out of line of the tv and transmitter?

I live within 300 yards of the crystal palace TV/radio transmitter, moved here a year ago, very happy here though the Croydon south transmitter half a mile away makes me feel depressed as it mainly transmits ITV, channel 5 and local radio with its compressed pop music, moronic advertising jingles and cretinous disk jokey prattle.
The transmitter I can see sat from my sofa brings me radio 4 and new American Pickers which I enjoy greatly.

Personally i don’t feel it is the radio waves causing issues.
It’s all the bloody neutrinos that get me going

Were all those txt messages from him ? 😛

Fee paying parent

That makes life a lot easier 🙂

1) Criminal damage.
2) Child goes to another school.

I’m sure the other parents don’t want someone going postal on the IT equipment that’s ‘injuring’ their child? What would they do if another kid hurt their precious one?

@Baron

His fillings probably interacted with the radio waves.

. It can’t be disproven either.

nothing that is not true can be “disproven” hence why we tend to look for the evidence. A lack of evidence is still evidence though you can ignore this as well if you want

You cannot prove a negative and if we were to believe anything we could not disprove that is a list that it is only limited by our imagination

That parent is clearly a loon and they should be charged – what would the school do if a pupil did a similar rampage or a member of staff?

Never mind the WIFI, what about that big glowing yellow orb in the sky…

If you put your phone on the table near him he could tell when a text message was about to arrive. Bit spooky…

Have you ever heard the “Did-d-d-dit D-d-dit” interference on speakers when your phone is about to ring or get a message?

He’ll probably be getting the same thing through his fillings.