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A ‘Sonic Attack’ on Diplomats in Cuba? These Scientists Doubt It

posted by FatPhil on Thursday October 19 2017, @01:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the hawkwind-fans dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

The State Department has not provided further details about the medical condition of the affected staffers. But government officials have suggested anonymously that the diplomats may have been assaulted with some sort of sonic weapon.

Experts in acoustics, however, say that's a theory more appropriate to a James Bond movie.

Sound can cause discomfort and even serious harm, and researchers have explored the idea of sonic weaponry for years. But scientists doubt a hidden ultrasound weapon can explain what happened in Cuba.

"I'd say it's fairly implausible," said Jürgen Altmann, a physicist at the Technische Universität Dortmund in Germany and an expert on acoustics.

Once again, the New York Times gets it wrong. James Bond is not the movie genre they're looking for.

mrpg also brings us this less-critical AP report, What Americans Heard in Cuba Attacks: The Sound.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Thursday October 19 2017, @06:59PM (12 children)

    by NewNic (6420) on Thursday October 19 2017, @06:59PM (#584754) Journal

    The "old wives tale" also happens to be true [nutrition.org]. The linked research article discusses the link between vitamin A which is in large concentrations in carrots (actually beta carotene which is transformed to vitamin A in the body) and improved vision, including improved low-light vision.

    Your linked article says nothing of the sort. It discusses the link between a deficient diet and deficient vision. Not improved vision.

    --
    lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday October 19 2017, @09:33PM (8 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday October 19 2017, @09:33PM (#584908) Journal

    It discusses the link between a deficient diet and deficient vision. Not improved vision.

    Either way is fine. You would agree that not having deficient vision is an improvement over having deficient vision, right? When discussing a relative quality, there are numerous equivalent ways to describe it.

    • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Thursday October 19 2017, @10:12PM (7 children)

      by NewNic (6420) on Thursday October 19 2017, @10:12PM (#584938) Journal

      No.

      In the context of the discussion, an improvement would have to be something better than normal.

      --
      lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday October 19 2017, @10:24PM (6 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday October 19 2017, @10:24PM (#584947) Journal

        In the context of the discussion, an improvement would have to be something better than normal.

        And here, normal is a vitamin A-deficient diet. There's no point to this argument.

        • (Score: 3, Touché) by NewNic on Thursday October 19 2017, @11:05PM (5 children)

          by NewNic (6420) on Thursday October 19 2017, @11:05PM (#584972) Journal

          We know that, wherever you are, normal means deficient, but I don't think that the deficiencies are limited to your diet.

          --
          lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday October 20 2017, @02:51PM (4 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 20 2017, @02:51PM (#585245) Journal
            Look, I explained my side. There's no reason for your monkey noises any more. You did this [soylentnews.org] before.

            Like most of your "understanding", you are wrong.

            House prices are still rising in the SF Bay Area. Do you think that happens because there is a net migration away?

            You really represent the typical "low information voter", don't you.

            You once again seized on a red herring (in the above example net immigration to California is completely irrelevant to whether more Californians are immigrating to Colorado and other nearby states than people from the rest of the US) and start ad hominem attacking. Here's your gold star for participation!

            • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday October 20 2017, @04:54PM (3 children)

              by NewNic (6420) on Friday October 20 2017, @04:54PM (#585305) Journal

              Am I starting to needle you? Good.

              --
              lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday October 20 2017, @05:33PM (2 children)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 20 2017, @05:33PM (#585333) Journal
                When "needling" someone is more important than a good argument, maybe you should do something else other than SN for a while?

                • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday October 20 2017, @07:03PM (1 child)

                  by NewNic (6420) on Friday October 20 2017, @07:03PM (#585374) Journal

                  The truth hurts some times, doesn't it?

                  --
                  lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 19 2017, @09:45PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 19 2017, @09:45PM (#584917)

    Marijuana, however, does improve your night vision.

    • (Score: 2) by rylyeh on Thursday October 19 2017, @10:01PM (1 child)

      by rylyeh (6726) <{kadath} {at} {gmail.com}> on Thursday October 19 2017, @10:01PM (#584928)

      Mushrooms Really improve night vision!

      --
      "a vast crenulate shell wherein rode the grey and awful form of primal Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss."

      • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Friday October 20 2017, @01:24PM

        by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Friday October 20 2017, @01:24PM (#585211)

        Peyote for the win!

        --
        Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.