OPINION

Truth via debate

Re: "PM orders ban on 'fake news'," (BP, July 30).

In a perfect world, everyone might be truthful all the time-but we do not live in a Pollyanna reality. We live in the real world though where truth is a quality that is impossible and implausible. Everyone lies, especially with regards to "little white lies" that make social situations operate smoother.

The declaration by the PM to eliminate "fake news" is in and of itself a false declaration since this is an impossible goal and against human nature. If the government is going to judge everything a citizen says, who gets to evaluate the information the government produces? Who will be held accountable? The PM or an official?

When it comes to Covid and scientific debate, which is essential for advancement, how does stifling questions or unsanctioned positions support the quest for truth? There is plenty of room for debate over Covid issues such as wearing masks that are not designed to block viruses. Using PCR tests that are not designed for disease diagnosis but for research purposes is another topic that deserves review and deeper introspection.

When someone blocks questioning about a subject or position this usually tells me that their perspective is not sound. The only way to get to "truth" is through open, robust, debate. Especially when the subject is novel and that there is no such thing as established science. Every established scientific position is just one experiment away from being destroyed.

Re: "Online vaccination bookings quota for Bang Sue station quickly filled," (Online, July 29).

The image of Bang Sue Grand Station -- jam-packed with people from Bangkok and the surrounding areas waiting to receive a Covid-19 vaccine shot -- showed the Thai government has not been up to the job in its efforts to acquire the much-needed vaccines for our country.

On another front, while some 80% of Thais have yet to receive their first vaccine shot, rumours abound that a dozen or so police officers in the Northeast -- allegedly under the wings of an influential figure allegedly behind a certain political party in this government -- had received their third government-sponsored vaccine jabs already. According to the rumour, these officers are waiting for their fourth and fifth jabs if the "boss" facilitates it for them.

PM Prayut should look into this matter, seriously.

Re: "US, UK donating more vaccines to Thailand," (Online, July 29).

There is no need for false news to frighten people. They are already terribly worried about this growing tale of mismanagement and neglect of duty. The only way this will subside is when people are being inoculated in very large numbers.

Nothing was done here last year at the end of the very mild effects of the first wave to get people jabbed. What is happening now is the direct cause of that lack of action.

The new donations from Western countries will go to Thai citizens first, not expats. Of course that will not help my Thai family here or others like me who fall into one of the most vulnerable sectors for succumbing to Covid-19. Without the jab I am unable to fly back to my land of birth either so am stuck here waiting to catch it and hoping I don't before I get the vaccine.

This is a matter of life and death, not a football game.

Re: "China slams NBC ceremony coverage," (BP, July 25).

Considering that most of the world has adopted the face-saving -- albeit reality-denying -- "One-China" policy, I agree that NBC should have included Taiwan in the map of China presented during the Olympic opening broadcast.

That said, China has no basis for complaining about NBC not including the South China Sea as part of China on maps depicting the country. In 2016, the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued a final decision, declaring that China has "no legal basis" for asserting ownership of the South China Sea. That being the case, China has no more right to claim the South China Sea than I do.

Have you ever heard about electromagnetic pollution?

I am an electrical engineering professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, The University of Texas, with expertise in applied electromagnetics, wave propagation, and antenna design, and I recently published a scientific article regarding electromagnetic pollution in "Electromagnetics in Medicine and Biology".

And yes, I do teach and design all kinds of high-tech new-generation communication devices.

This has been one of my great concerns involving us all, those who live in this utopia-tech 21st century, this well-equipped and highly connected world, those who are partly aware and those who have no clue about what we are facing without our consent.

In spite of being happy to enjoy (free and) strong Wi-Fi in a multitude of accommodations, office buildings, subways, libraries, airplanes, coffee shops or even Barnes and Noble, I cannot help being nervous about it, and I always tell my friends and family to turn off their Wi-Fi routers and cellphones at least at night.

So far, "pollution" has been used to label air or water contaminants that what we can clearly see, smell or feel, like CO, NO2, bacteria, etc.

Electromagnetic waves lie in a very broad spectrum, from very low frequency in the hundreds Hz range (sound waves) to the zillion thousands or 1023Hz (Gamma rays).

Let's still enjoy a well-tuned Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Pink Martini or Maroon 5 melody. Leave the Gamma radiation concerns for Nasa or Space X, and concentrate on this unnecessary wireless communication in the GHz (109) band, located in the middle of the spectrum.

Our body, or more precisely, our organs and tissues, contain lots of water (99.33% of blood, 73.33% of the brain, 31.81% of the bones). Water is classified as a dielectric material, which can be easily stimulated by electromagnetic waves, meaning it can be excited, resonated, and can undeniably absorb all these communication waves.

The same goes for our organs and tissues, only with various levels, based on their ion contents as well as the electromagnetic parameter values.

You may be curious to take a glance at a few examples showing how our organs are reacting to small dipole antennas, common antennas used in cellphones, routers, smart watches, air pods, etc. Imagine what happens when you place a cellphone next to your ears or in your pocket, or air pods in your ears.

We can clearly notice the higher electromagnetic strength in the 28GHz utilised in 5G networks, over the typical 2.4GHz, widely used in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.

Higher frequency means higher power, stronger radiation and a better signal along with great coverage, of course, as we all have heard from today's 5G advertisements.

It is technically all correct.

The hidden part is that as the waves are propagating through and oscillating inside our body, while being absorbed in our organs and tissues, even more than before, about 10 times. Our organs will need to tolerate much higher stimulation and residue.

Is this acceptable, or extremely dangerous?

Can't really judge that… My grandfather smoked 10 cigarettes a day and lived happily for 92 years, while my good neighbour, a sporadic smoker, recently passed away, at 49, with lung cancer.

We are all different and react differently to diverse stimuli.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have set certain electromagnetic regulations.

However, let's do some easy math. With several cellphones active in the same area, the total radiation can get close to 2 Watts, the same level as the maximum power radiation of 5 mW/cm2 at two inches from the microwave oven surface permitted by federal regulations!

Travelling in either first or economy class, with or without using Wi-Fi, airlines all try to make sure that we all share the same level of good signal that gets even stronger if someone next to us is streaming online games or watching private screening movies.

Don't really want to dig too much deeper here, but new 6G, Aerial Access Networks (AAN), are being developed as we speak. Picture this electromagnetic radiation spreading everywhere, surrounding us, whether on the ground, third or twentieth floor. Some will even be transmitted from space.

Can we consider all this "electromagnetic pollution alert"? The unnecessary, unwanted so-called advanced communications. Ready for you to use anytime, everywhere you want.

How about thinking more seriously about the harmful side effects?

Maybe it is time to get rewired, unplug our wireless devices, let our homes be just normal, not too smart, and turn off our cells for a while. We'll be definitely just fine with our current communication speed and signal quality. No need for more!