A rchive Date
[ 10-06-2004 ]
Category
[ Science ]
sub-Categoy
[ Mass Media ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Calgary/Michael_Platt/2004/06/10/492646.html
Fears rule us
By MICHAEL PLATT - Calgary Sun
Thu, June 10, 2004
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing - and so is typing, apparently.
So say scientists in California, who've now added computers to the alarming list of everyday objects that can trigger itching, wheezing, rashes, tumours, baldness and/or the occasional headstone inscription.
Computers, we were warned this week, emit a toxic dust which goes by the charming name of polybrominated diphenyl, or, as the happy little chemical is known to the doom-and-gloom brigade who study these things, PBDE.
Blamed for brain damage in rats, PBDE is added to plastic to make it fire-proof, and it lurks as a permanent dust on every part of your computer. It can't be wiped off, so don't even bother trying.
Computers are hazardous to your health. That means the depressing tally of ailment-causing products now includes pretty much everything. Except broccoli, but scientists probably have their suspicions. That shade of green must cause cancer in something ...
While the near-daily barrage of health scares and warnings is nothing new, the irony of this latest fear-mongering is that the micro-chipped harbinger of doom on your desk is now a source of paranoia itself.
Computers, for all their good qualities, have made accessing information a little too easy - information that's without context, without relevance and without counter-point. Sort of like listening to old wives tales, with better graphics.
Whereas the ordinary person a couple of decades ago would have encountered maybe a half-dozen scary health stories a year, the Internet has ensured millions of people are passively reading that many freaky headlines a week, just by turning their computers on.
Start searching, and there's hardly an activity, food or man-made object that hasn't been linked to some dread disease.
Almost every day, a new medical warning or health scare is highlighted on homepages and newsgroups, with this week's toxic computer dust just a typical example.
In recent days and weeks, Internet users have been warned about baby formula causing meningitis, breast milk containing toxins (especially in Canadian women), air pollution being linked to SIDS and soda pop leading to diabetes in women.
As if that's not enough, chicken eggs may contain harmful veterinary toxins, air travel can clot children's blood, and soap and shampoo are a source of carcinogens.
Wait - there's more. Car seats emit chemicals that damage young brains, frying chicken can release poisonous chemicals into the air, and making the bed stirs up toxic dust (Actually, that last one sounds serious - no more bed making for me, then).
And that's only from the last two weeks - a summary of the past year would leave most people quivering in fear, afraid to eat, breathe, or even move ...
It's fast becoming a culture of paranoia, fuelled by isolated scientific studies of often dubious value.
Surely there's a more useful pastime for scientists than frying up drumsticks and scaring people?
In Britain, people filled with irrational fear and loathing over toxic health warnings now have their own name: "chemiphobes."
Scientists there are now worried they may be facing a huge consumer backlash as worry among the general public spirals out of control.
Go figure.
What's especially nefarious about the proliferation of health horror-stories is how sensational they tend to be.
After telling us to fear our computers, food and furniture, the scientists then point out how miniscule the danger actually is - one-in-a-million chance, more likely to be struck by lightning, that sort of thing. The scientific meddlers try to balance mass fear-mongering with the fine print - but it's too late.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and computers have given irresponsible test-tube pilots a soapbox to announce every dodgy discovery without having to consider the consequences of a paranoid public.
Luckily, there's a cure. It's called the 'off' switch
Email: michael.platt@calgarysun.com Letters to the editor should be sent to: callet@calgarysun.com Home Page]
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