If Marconi's discovery of radio had been dogged by the same scaremongers as Wi-Fi, we wouldn't have heard today's pronouncement by the chief of the Professional Association of Teachers about the supposed dangers of wireless technology. We'd all have had to wait for the carrier pigeons to arrive with it.
Philip Parkin told the PAT annual conference delegates: "Until there is a full inquiry based on both existing evidence and on newly-commissioned research work, the nation's children are being treated as guinea pigs in a large-scale experiment."
Laying aside the Health Protection Agency's advice - that no evidence has so far shown that Wi-Fi causes health problems - and the panned Panorama documentary into the subject, calling children 'guinea pigs' is just going to cause parents and teachers unnecessary worry and confusion.
A recent study (pdf) by the University of Essex into mobile masts, which operate at a much greater power than wireless routers, showed that people who claim to experience headaches and nausea in the presence of radio signals felt just as ill when they were just told the signals were switched on as when they actually were.
This, of course, doesn't mean that the subjects were lying about their very real symptoms. But correlation does not equal causation. And the study didn't even show any correlation.
As Bad Science author, Ben Goldacre, points out, some of those cranking the handle behind the 'Wi-Fi will turn your brain to a potato' movement have vested interests, wanting to sell devices such as shielding cages, aluminium hats, mystical crystal matrices and so on. Dr Goldacre, in fact, has criticised the PAT for 'cherry-picking' statistics the first time they brought the subject up.
Possibly the most ridiculous thing about this is that the centre at which the PAT conference was held - in Harrogate, North Yorkshire - is equipped with Wi-Fi throughout. Security must have had a terrible job trying to control the rush for the emergency exit after Mr Parkin's speech.
What do you think?
