2 ms·
Mostly it is an example of failing at science communication, as highlighting the radioactivity of a banana basically just serves to make bananas seem more scary
by SiempreViernes 4y ago
Mostly it is an example of failing at science communication, as highlighting the radioactivity of a banana basically just serves to make bananas seem more scary. Because radioactivity is scary: it can lethally damage without you feeling anything before your start puking.
Saying living next to a reactor is safe because even bananas contains a bit of radioactivity is somewhat like saying living next to a Ebola lab is safe because there are viruses in bananas... it's not really speaking to the fear of getting caught up in the fallout when bad things happen at the reactor.
- ithkuil 4y agoyeah, as always it really depends who are you communicating something to
- Nexxius 4y agoFruit are scary! The brits used to give lessons (1970's) on defending yourself against a variety of fruit attacks, here is a clip (https://youtu.be/MlroOdP8p2Y https://youtu.be/MlroOdP8p2Y)
- now__what 4y ago> speaking to the fear of getting caught up in the fallout when bad things happen at the reactor. The comparison focuses on the normal amount of background radiation from living near a nuclear plant, so fear of fallout "when bad things happen" is a separate issue and irrelevant to the banana example. The Ebola lab comparison is a good one though.