Hi Folks,
Happy New Year! I know it's a bit late in the Festive Season
to be setting puzzles now, since people are beginning to get
back to serious work ... but I can't resist putting up the
following for your consideration.
Today's Sunday Telegraph (UK) carries the following in its
Science section (Questions and Answers, byline of Robert
Matthews) -- page 35 if you have the paper edition.
"Could mobile phones cause artificial joints to become painful?
S Appleby, London.
Mr Appleby explains that he has an artificial hip made from
steel, and he has been having pain from the joint since he
began carrying his mobile in his right trouser pocket, right
next to the joint. While he is reluctant to join those who
see mobiles as the cause of every medical ailment, he still
harbours suspicions. They strike me as well-founded, as mobiles
emit microwaves even when they are not being used to make calls,
in order to signal to the nearest base-station. Dr Michael Clark
of the National Radiological Protection Board tells me it's
possible this could induce a tiny stimulus to the nerves around
the joint. If so, then carrying the mobile in another pocket
should solve it -- though anyone with persistent symptoms
like this should seek medical advice."
Interesting. And the puzzle is: devise a clinical trial to test
the hypothesis. I'd suggest carrying two mobile phones, one on
each side. And of course the experimenter should randomly (and
unknown to Mr Abbleby) ensure that one is switched on, and the
other not, at the start of each day. Mr Appleby should record
whether or not he feels pain in the joint.
The tricky bit is that, in the course of the day, he might
receive calls on his active mobile, or have to make calls,
thereby finding out which one is switched on, which is likely
to bias his perception of pain (given that he suspects that
the hypothesis is true).
My tentative suggestion to work round this problem involves
getting Mr Appleby to record his perception of pain at a random
moment, which in principle solves it. However, I naively feel
that even this is susceptible to Murphy's Law, and I'd be
interested to see other people's thoughts on it. And as for
how to analyse the results ...
As a final passion-killer, let me warn you that I'm not offering
any prizes for good solutions.
Best wishes to all, and, once again,
Happy New Year!
Ted.
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E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <[log in to unmask]>
Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!]
Date: 10-Jan-05 Time: 00:01:37
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