Damn I do not intent to hijack this forum and turn it into a defacto blog, sorry, but the fact I was unsure about units of radiation, and the fact that these are crucially important in understanding the Japanese crisis, compelled me to post this. The Japanese crisis highlights an interesting trend, that it is not only units of measure, but the way to interpret them, that can be disseminated rapidly on the net. I am so impressed with rapid speed that most people can now educate themselves on scientific issues, especially these complex measures. The collection of data promises to transform the internet into an internet of things, even more than an internet of people. Crowd-reporting of radiation levels has highlighted this new trend. It also encourages standards of reporting and objectivity, the democratization of data. We no longer have to rely on ponderous bureaucracies to collect and report data happenings, or to make sense of them on our behalf. Radiation dose is like cigarette smoking - it is a cumulative thing. (In fact there is a striking parallel between the attrition of cigarette smoking and radiation damage. So much so, that there is a very good case to argue that lung cancer is caused not so much directly from chemical damage of the smoke constituents, as it is by the destruction of the ability of the lungs to expel naturally occurring radioactive particles in the environment). So anyway, if for example if radiation is reported as say x times above normal levels, but still well below safety limits, it pays to remember that this means damage is accumulating at x times the usual rate, and the shortening of lifespan is within a tolerable economic rate of y years. We could in fact make a google-style radiation map that represents the historical loss of lifespan at every point of the globe. The quality of life does not just depend on the strength of an economy, you have to factor in the ability of the individuals within it to enjoy that economy, and these radiation equations are not just for academics any more, we can be educated on their character. This accumulated knowledge is then easily embedded into emerging global and objective information systems.
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