Couched in friendlierterms, the discussion might have been:
A: I have never seen actual evidence that a problem exists.
B: I have.
A: Oh, really? Where?
B: I don't know. But I've definitely seen it - perhaps if you looked, you
would too.
Of course you are correct, and I apologize for the testy reply earlier.
A very interesting thread anyway; the NTSB web site has a very nice search
engine, and thousands of entries (sigh; one for each crash since 1983,
domestic US anyway). As a 100K flier for many years, I personally relish
the opportunity to turn off the umbilical cord to the office and quietly
read a journal. I would much rather be out of touch than be another report
in the NTSB database.
At any rate, http://www.srg.caa.co.uk/news/Gsm_intf.PDF seems to indicate
that there are no recorded incidents of people eating each other to stay
alive on the side of a snow covered mountain, and later discovering that
it was all on account of a cell-phone.
[... but, but, but, sputtering noises... ;^)]
From a delightful paper entitled "Internet Telephony" by
Schulzrinne/Rosenberg:
A while back, German scientists dug 50 meters down in the underground and
discovered small
pieces of copper. After studying these pieces for a long time, Germany
announced that the ancient
Germans 25,000 years ago had a nation-wide telephone network. Naturally, the
Russian
government was not that easily impressed. They ordered their own scientists
to dig even deeper.
100 meters down they found small pieces of glass and they soon announced
that the ancient
Russians 35,000 years ago already had a nation-wide fiber net. Ethiopian
scientists were
outraged. They dug 200 meters down in the underground, but found absolutely
nothing. They
happily concluded that the ancient ethiopians 55,000 years ago had cellular
telephones.
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my
telephone. My wish has
come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.
Bjarne Stroustrup (author of the C++ programming language)
so, my conclusion? Even 50,000 years ago, the problems of society,
including recent incidents of airline failure, cannibalism, and heartburn,
can be directly traced to the invention of the cell phone. ;^)
thanks. /m.