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[ChairmanPoo]

High voltage lines don't produce ionizing radiation, afaik. They do produce strong magnetic fields, but there is no definite study that is positive on a link between them and cancer, afaik.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/magnetic-fields
.

[kaijyuu]

Well, the correlation studies are done, ultra-high voltage lines produce a lot of radiation, and radiation is known to cause cancer.

But there's no 100% proof that any particular person got cancer from the power lines - e.g. some of those people would have gotten cancer from other sources.

It's the same logic as a firing squad, you can't prove who fired the fatal bullet, so nobody is guilty.

That's very bad logic since it completely dismisses inductive reasoning (the very basis for science itself!). Of course it could be a fluke, of course it's not 100% certain. Same goes for absolutely everything you determine by experimentation. The question is whether your experiments prove it "within reasonable doubt."

So, are those studies solid or not? If they are, then they've proven it as a cause well enough for that particular case. If not, then well, they haven't.

[MonkeyHead]

Whether or not it's correct, the theory is electromagnetic radiation from power lines, it goes with the physics that there's leakage. No differences between that and the 'radiation' theory, it's the same thing.

actually, the size of the statistical bump also depends on sample size, a bigger sample needs a smaller increase to be significant. For the fluctuations in background noise theory, you can compare multiple locations, and assess the likeliness of them always clustering around power lines.

I looked for Australian studies and found this:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/5625

A Tasmanian study of more than 850 patients reported that those who lived close to high-voltage power lines during childhood are up to five times more likely to develop cancer, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald. For every year lived within 50 meters of a power line, risk of cancer was found to increase by seven percent.

you need to believe it's just a coincidental glitch that the Tasmanian study found the same thing as the American one.

Same point I made earlier stands: If out of that 850 people, one would develop cancer, then "5 times more likley" simply means 5 people, which doesnt seem like much in the way of damning evidence. If it was 20 people in 850, well, 5 times that is 100 people, much more statistically worrying, and much less likely due to random fluctuations.  Without the raw numbers it is hard to draw firm conclusions from the statistics. Same for the "increase of 7%". If the base rate was low, then 7% of low is still low, and vice versa.

[Darvi]

Like how 200% of nothing is still nothing.

[Pnx]

Very strong electromagnetic fields actually have been proven to accelerate the decomposition of DNA and thereby increase cancer risk, but it's something that's only been observed to have a significant effect in fields that are much stronger than those you find in people's homes when they live near major power lines. What I've always suspected about this issue and as to why children seem to have a bigger risk of cancer when they live near a pylon, is that they're going out and climbing over the fences around the pylon and playing around with it, because let's face facts, those things basically look like gigantic jungle gyms.

[Vattic]

I really wish newspapers would provide their sources on scientific stuff. Then we could find out if these studies were any good. Most of the studies that show a link that are listed on Wikipedia seem to be pretty flawed.

[Pnx]

Yeah, I did a lot of searching around about this stuff and frankly I've never seen any studies on this issue that investigated it thoroughly enough.

[DeKaFu]

If anyone's interested, here's the cite for the Tasmanian study:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Residential exposure to electric power transmission lines and risk of lymphoproliferative and myeloproliferative disorders: a case–control study.
Authors: R. M. Lowenthal, D. M. Tuck and I. C. Bray
Internal Medicine Journal, vol. 37 (2007) pg. 614–619

Unfortunately you need a subscription to access it (I can through university).

Interestingly, one of its results was that the risk was literally doubled if the power lines were in Tasmania rather than in Australia. A follow-up comment suggested it might be pollution in the air interacting with the magnetic field that actually causes health problems. As far as I know that hasn't been investigated yet.

Or, y'know, from a correlation=causation standpoint, maybe being Tasmanian gives you cancer!

[MonkeyHead]

Or the pollution itself.

[Heron TSG]

Just did some research on the cross country team of the college I will be attending in September. The season starts in August, when I won't have a place to stay. (The move in date is late September, go figure that out.) The entire mens' team last year was comprised of freshmen who run an 8k (~5 miles) in about 29-31 minutes. The downside is that the team is almost irrevocably last/second-to-last in the league. The silver lining is that I will probably be in the top 4 or 5 in the entire league. (NAIA, not NCAA, but still!) My 8k time is about 26 minutes right now. 

[Lagslayer]

You people have no idea what you are talking about. It's gremlins. Gremlins cause cancer. They come from the 59th dimension and are attracted by our technology. Gremlins are also parasitic, and can regenerate from a small piece of their original body. Tumors are actually their incubating young. And they come in all types. Some prefer the nutriment of certain body parts, and so incubate their young there. Similarly, not all types of cancer gremlins will outright kill the host, and are relatively "benign", but still leeching nutrients from the host.

[kaijyuu]

You people have no idea what you are talking about. It's gremlins. Gremlins cause cancer. They come from the 59th dimension and are attracted by our technology. Gremlins are also parasitic, and can regenerate from a small piece of their original body. Tumors are actually their incubating young. And they come in all types. Some prefer the nutriment of certain body parts, and so incubate their young there. Similarly, not all types of cancer gremlins will outright kill the host, and are relatively "benign", but still leeching nutrients from the host.

Pfft. It's obviously Evil Spirits from the nega-realm. You and your heathen beliefs.

[MagmaMcFry]

This is directly linked to from the Conservapedia front page.

[feralferret]

I read this and it made me want to bawl. I'm pretty sure it's not true but still... d'awww. 

For the record I don't read that blog, but can't link to my FB homepage so there ya go.

In other news i'mma go visit my grandma today...

Edit: Also, before reading this thread I didn't know what slenderman was... I am now trying very hard not to think of him. D:

[ChairmanPoo]

After several years I'm still kind of crazy in love with a girl I've a snowball's chance in hell of getting. It's not so much a matter of obsessing over her continuously as much as the slightest contact leading to a "Damn, she's perfect" epiphany. And rage at the unfairness afterwards, of course.

I hedge my bets by going out with other girls with which I have daily contact and better odds. Still, I can't shake off this Gastbyish syndrome with her