The easiest way to fool anybody these days is to spread blatant falsehood through e-mails or SMSs on mobiles. The rumour is given wings by the tendency to press the forward tab without even pondering about the veracity of the fact, forget about researching for the truth. Even professors of history plead for “saving” the Taj Mahal as one of the seven wonders of the world, because they are blind to the obvious reasons of commerce for the cellular provider who earn loads of money due to the habit of the gullible to help propagate anything that reaches them.
The latest rumour doing the rounds is about the danger of brain tumour being triggered by receiving mobile calls from certain identified numbers. The “believers” insist that the “frequency” of the mobile triggers the formation of the brain tumour. And they choose to ignore the fundamental principle that the frequency varies ONLY between different service providers, NOT between different mobile numbers.
It is also pertinent to note that this rumour is a recycled one that had come seven years ago. It was countered effectively then, yet it has now returned back with a vengeance. More than three years ago, a worldwide study initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO), has found that there is no link between cell phones and brain tumours. The experts looked at links between mobile use and the incidence of glioma, the most common kind of tumour found in the head and found none.
Using the latest technology does not automatically translate into a “modern” attitude and approach. The highest of qualifications do not certify the absence of irrational blind beliefs. The great rationalist B. Premanand lamented that “education is in the hands of the unscrupulous who propagate miracles, superstitions, and blind beliefs. Unless our people are educated in scientific temper we have no hope.”
The Indian Constitution declares scientific temperament as a fundamental duty of all citizens… all we need is to embrace rational thinking and develop a questioning mind… Otherwise, rumours will continue to exploit our fears and also leave us poorer… we must explore the dimensions of the message we receive, before pressing the “forward” tab!
With rationality at sea, rumour-mongering is dangerously tragic...
‘develop new dimensions’ to cultivate the spirit of enquiry and logic!
Regards
Pravin
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