What's New Robert L. Park March 19, 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 19 Mar 2010   Washington, DC

1.  IMAGINARY SCIENCE: THE GREAT DRUG WAR SOUTH OF THE BORDER.
The United States and Mexico are separated by a 3000 km border that=20
stretches across the most forbidding desert in North America. Mexican dru=
g=20
traffickers, for whom the US drug market is El Dorado, are fighting a=20
bloody war with the democratically elected government of Mexico over=20
control of the border.  According to Monday=92s New York Times, outgunned=
=20
Mexican officials spent more than $10 million to purchase high-tech dowsi=
ng=20
rods to detect caches of drugs, or weapons or anything else you have in=20
mind.  The first application was as a golf-ball finder sold in Golf-Pro=20
shops, http://bobpark.org/WN96/wn012696.html .  The Mexican army says the=
=20
devices are extremely helpful.  Made in the UK by Global Technologies Ltd=
.,=20
the GT 200 has no sensors.  Priced at more than $20,000, it=92s a plastic=
 rod=20
attached to a hand grip by a swivel, allowing the rod to point in any=20
direction depending on the orientation of the handle.  That also describe=
s=20
the ADE 650 sold by ATSC Ltd., another UK company which recently sold 1,5=
00=20
imaginary detectors to the Iraqis to search for explosives at checkpoints=
=20
http://bobpark.org/WN09/wn110609.html .    Could Global Technologies and=20
ATSC be the same company, switching names and locations to avoid exposure=
.=20

2.  IMAGINARY PENALTIES: AT WHAT POINT IS IMAGINARY SCIENCE CRIMINAL?=20
The British government took action, notifying Mexico and other countries=20
that the GT 200 "may not work."  Of course it "works"; it just doesn't=20
detect anything.  That's not its purpose.  Human Rights Watch is worried=20
that people are actually being arrested and charged solely on the basis o=
f=20
readings from the device.  That could happen; in the United States,=20
however, local law enforcement agencies use these devices to justify=20
probable-cause for searches.  Whether it's done with a willow branch or a=
=20
GT 200, dowsing falls in a special category of voodoo science, along with=
=20
homeopathy and prayer, that we might call "pretend science."  We treat=20
pretend science much too lightly.  It ignores the most basic principle of=
=20
science: cause and effect.  Causality should be stressed in the education=
=20
of every child.  The British government is said to be considering=20
legislation to stop exports of the GT 200 and similar devices, but a=20
British diplomat in Mexico said of the GT 200, "It's now up to the Mexica=
n=20
authorities."  Why is it that the people who market imaginary science nev=
er=20
seem to go to jail?  I served several State Attorneys General as a expert=
=20
witness in cases involving charges of fraudulent science. Every case ende=
d=20
with a consent decree in which the perpetrator agreed to stop cheating=20
residents of that state.

3.   CELL PHONES: THEY CERTAINLY HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE HUMAN BRAIN.=20
Whether the effect has anything to do with cancer is another matter.  The=
=20
ubiquitous presence of cell phones only started about a decade ago. If=20
there is a more lengthy incubation period associated with cell-phone=20
radiation we could be headed for a virtual epidemic.  Just in case, the=20
media has now taken to reporting the relative intensity levels of various=
=20
models. That sort of listing does not put people's minds at rest, but so=20
far there is nothing to implicate the cell phone in brain cancer.  To the=
=20
observation that microwave photons are not energetic enough to break a=20
chemical bond in DNA, several readers observed that that microwaves can=20
heat tissue, w evolution which is certainly true. However, the very large=
=20
blood flow in the brain serves as an effective coolant.

4.  NSF: NEW DIRECTOR IS PICKED TO HEAD THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.
Subra Suresh, 53, dean of engineering at MIT, is the White House choice t=
o=20
succeed Arden Bement as head of the National Science Foundation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org
What's New is moving to a different listserver and our
subscription process has changed. To change your subscription
status please visit this link:
http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dbobparks-whatsnew&A=3D1