Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Issue 509 Fighting Ebola with cellphones January 20, 2015

Ok, you are like, "how do you fight Ebola (and other diseases) with a cell phone"?  Well it is elementary my dear reader.  It provides doctors (and people) with information.  Here is how it works in a nutshell.

How Cell phones fight Ebola:  No, the cell phones do not transform into crime fighting robots akin to Optimus Prime, but they do link people together.  What you must understand is that most of the Africa's electronic infrastructure is based on cell phone technology (and who in America or the rest of the world does not have a cell phone?).  And that means we have access to the cell phones data.  It is fairly big brotherish, but by looking at the data a doctor can see all the places an individual has been and thus make it easier to see who they have interacted with.  From there they repeat the process until every individual who has come into possible contact with the infected person(s) can be found, quarantined and then treated if they should prove sick.  Cell phones act almost like mini-tracking devices and if a person passed through a crowded area, it is possible to see what other people were in the immediate proximity via their cell phones (or other electronic devices).  So by doctors playing the part of an electronic stalker, we can prevent outbreaks from spreading and thus save lives.


Conclusion:  Yes it is intrusive, but in an emergency this will be an approved method by which to stop the spread of any sort of contagion.  Sure, the fact that you can be located 24/7 365 is kind of scary, but so long as it is done for something like this, then I really have no problem with it.

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