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Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

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Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#31

Post by user_7832 »

agucova wrote: post #25
user_7832 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: phones have been shown to warm up brains (1), and it is hardly surprising that amongst the billions of phone users some experience pain/headache from heat (perhaps also indirectly from blood vessel dilation?). So it is hardly surprising for OP to have such an experience. 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5952570/#:~:tex... . (Quickly googled result, I'm sure there are better results)

There is a big causal step between "phones slightly warm brains" and "that causes headaches". Fortunately we don't need to rely on the fact that it would be “hardly surprising” because there is good quality empirical evidence disproving the relationship.

> There is a big causal step between "phones slightly warm brains" and "that causes headaches".

> Fortunately we don't need to rely on the fact that it would be “hardly surprising” because there is good quality empirical evidence disproving the relationship.

I wish people/you would either be more open minded or at least do a quick Google search. Literally searching for "brain heating headache" got these results which suggest that there is evidence showing a possible relationship. I am not even sure if this conversation is in good faith anymore.

https://www.healthline.com/health/heat-headache https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24581675/

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#32

Post by 2rsf »

b20000 wrote: post #18
Boltgolt wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want to note here: There is no evidence that there is such a thing as electromagnetic hypersensitivity. In double blind trials people would experience the same symptoms (headaches etc.) independent of if a router in the room was turned on or not.

ThERe iS nO EvidEnCe… my wife has the same problem

It's not just the lack of evidence, the air around your wife is saturated with electromagnetic radiation at different wavelengths and powers, so unless you live far away from civilization or in a sheltered room or bunker than it is probably not radiation sensitivity, otherwise she would have suffered all the time.

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#33

Post by stoplying1 »

b20000 wrote: post #18
Boltgolt wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want to note here: There is no evidence that there is such a thing as electromagnetic hypersensitivity. In double blind trials people would experience the same symptoms (headaches etc.) independent of if a router in the room was turned on or not.

ThERe iS nO EvidEnCe… my wife has the same problem

And indeed, that doesn't really mean anything to anyone and it's amusing that you assert an anecdote in response to requests for data but I guess I expect too much from people these days. Just whatever sounds good and plausible to them is enough.

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#34

Post by b20000 »

stoplying1 wrote: post #33
b20000 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ThERe iS nO EvidEnCe… my wife has the same problem

And indeed, that doesn't really mean anything to anyone and it's amusing that you assert an anecdote in response to requests for data but I guess I expect too much from people these days. Just whatever sounds good and plausible to them is enough.

this is not a PhD defence, sorry

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#35

Post by stoplying1 »

asdfqwertzxcv wrote: post #19
rg111 wrote: post #5

Maybe, not the answer you are you are looking for, but I replaced the phone, with a... phone, but without a SIM card. So much peace now. I use VOIP through Telegram and Signal. I use email. I get extremely fine-grained control over who can reach me, and when can I be reached. I made this switch since February, 2020, and my life became better by 10-15% better automatically. My phone hasn’t rang and I hadn't answered i…

I've done similar, except I still have a phone with sim card (and a number I don't even know) for the odd chance I need to make a call when out and about and for things like mapping walking/driving routes, etc. I'll probably get rid of the sim, like you, in the coming months. I used the recent spat of telemarketers bombarding myself, friends and family all day to finally make the move. It's been really amazing becaus…

I ported my number to Telnyx and then wrote 75 lines or less of JS. Now I have an Allowlist that rings straight through to my phone, a way to allow all calls during a time slot, and a menu that allows random callers to connect to me ONLY if they know the first letter of my last name.

Spam calls stopped very quickly, and moreover, have not really returned even after disabling it. I got off "the list" finally.

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#36

Post by b20000 »

2rsf wrote: post #32
b20000 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ThERe iS nO EvidEnCe… my wife has the same problem

It's not just the lack of evidence, the air around your wife is saturated with electromagnetic radiation at different wavelengths and powers, so unless you live far away from civilization or in a sheltered room or bunker than it is probably not radiation sensitivity, otherwise she would have suffered all the time.

when my wife uses her cellphone she can feel it in her head even when she is just holding the phone in her hands. she has no issues otherwise.

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#37

Post by Gnarl »

Boltgolt wrote: post #12
Gnarl wrote: post #8

I have no cellphone. Not since ~2003 when I finally cancelled my cellphone subscription altogether. That was GSM/flip-phone. Never got a smartphone. I have a fancy business landline phone on my desk with an address book, different ringtones (VIP/client, friends etc.) and an answering machine. I am a freelance consultant for 20 years. I never lost a client or a job over not being reachable by cellphone 24/7. I return…

I just want to note here: There is no evidence that there is such a thing as electromagnetic hypersensitivity. In double blind trials people would experience the same symptoms (headaches etc.) independent of if a router in the room was turned on or not.

The issue was settled in 1991 in a series of double-blind session where participants could detect exposure with 100% accuracy (link below). What you are quoting is a widespread myth perpetuated through particularly bad science where shrinks (!) exposed different participants to the same frequency/modulation for short periods and expected them to all react in the same way. And when not all reacted equally, they wrote it off as non-significant. Electromagnetic sensitivity doesn't work like that. Reactions are highly individual. In one famously bad study (Rubin et al. 2006), participants had a GSM phone transmitter strapped to their heads and the "sham" exposure was the transmitter signal diverted to a resistor load instead of the antenna - so "sham" was ALSO emitting EMR, although probably less, but apparently detectable by participants. Again, it was written off as participants being unable to distinguish exposure from sham, when both were actual exposure! That's the level of "scientific" idiocy we're up against.

See "Electromagnetic Field Sensitivity", Rea W. et al. 1991: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/1536837910903141...

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#38

Post by simonblack »

occam54 wrote: post #30
simonblack wrote: post #29

While I haven't ditched my smartphone, I rarely use it as a smartphone. I generally use it as a plain old phone (audio only) and a camera. You could probably remove everything else from my phone and I wouldn't notice it. For everything else I use a desktop computer. That has a resolution of 1920x1080 on a 27" screen, which will be upgraded in a week or so to 2840x2160 on a 43" screen. I dislike intensely using those…

I wish what you say were true - a voice only phone, and nothing else. Over the years I have been gently kettled ('coerced') into using it more and more. If you do any online banking you will know that the mobile phone has become and indispensable part of online proof of ID. Yes, I do the banking on my desktop, but the only way I can login now is via an SMS message sent to my smartphone. No verification code, no login…

I have several electronic banking security tokens. These produce a random number that has to match a random number generated at the bank for your account at the same time. I have used used these very successfully when travelling overseas. They obviate the need for an SMS code to be sent to the phone.

http://myanmargazette.net/167029/commonwealth-bank-3-net-cod...

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#39

Post by asdfqwertzxcv »

stoplying1 wrote: post #35
asdfqwertzxcv wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done similar, except I still have a phone with sim card (and a number I don't even know) for the odd chance I need to make a call when out and about and for things like mapping walking/driving routes, etc. I'll probably get rid of the sim, like you, in the coming months. I used the recent spat of telemarketers bombarding myself, friends and family all day to finally make the move. It's been really amazing becaus…

I ported my number to Telnyx and then wrote 75 lines or less of JS. Now I have an Allowlist that rings straight through to my phone, a way to allow all calls during a time slot, and a menu that allows random callers to connect to me ONLY if they know the first letter of my last name. Spam calls stopped very quickly, and moreover, have not really returned even after disabling it. I got off "the list" finally.

Interesting! I am loving no calls across the board right now.

Re: Ask HN: Who has ditched their phone and what is your replacement?

#40

Post by prash_ant »

Gnarl wrote: post #8

I have no cellphone. Not since ~2003 when I finally cancelled my cellphone subscription altogether. That was GSM/flip-phone. Never got a smartphone. I have a fancy business landline phone on my desk with an address book, different ringtones (VIP/client, friends etc.) and an answering machine. I am a freelance consultant for 20 years. I never lost a client or a job over not being reachable by cellphone 24/7. I return…

I am interested in knowing more about your fancy business landline phone.
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