00050	                                                       March 29, 1973
00075	
00100	Consumer Reports
00200	P.O. Box 1111
00300	Mount Vernon, N.Y. 10550
00400	
00500	Dear CU:
00600	
00700		CU's article recommending against the purchase  of  microwave
00800	ovens  ignores  two questions that apply whenever a new technology is
00900	being introduced:
01000	
01100		1. What amount of  danger  is  justified  by  convenience  or
01200	economy. To say, "no danger at all" is hypocritical, because even the
01300	most safety minded person takes a risk  every  time  he  crosses  the
01400	street  or  drives  a  car.  Not deciding this point usually involves
01500	ignoring the risks one has decided to take.
01600	
01700		2. When a new technology is proposed to replace an  old  one,
01800	it  is  necessary to compare the risks of the two.  Every meal cooked
01900	with a microwave oven is not cooked with a conventional oven or  over
02000	a  gas  or electric range.  We know that burns and fires often result
02100	from conventional cooking.  CU is much  better  equipped  to  compare
02200	these risks than I am, but you have neglected to do so. I would guess
02300	that the evidence of safety  of  microwaves  already  available  from
02400	diathermy  where  control  of  radiation  is  much  weaker is already
02500	sufficient to show that microwave cooking is safer than conventional.
02600	By  the  way,  the  use of a timer that sets the cooking to a maximum
02700	time would also make conventional coooking safer.
02800	
02900		Presumably CU considers its  decision  to  recommend  against
03000	microwave cooking to be prudent until more tests are made. It is more
03100	prudent in  terms  of  minimizing  blame  to  CU  than  in  terms  of
03200	maximizing  safety  to consumers, since CU will not be blamed for the
03300	accidents resulting from sticking to conventional cooking  caused  by
03400	CU's influence, whereas it would be blamed if it mistakenly failed to
03500	condemn the new method.
03600	
03700		CU should not dodge these issues.
03800	
03900					John McCarthy
04000	
04100	
04200					Computer Science Department
04300					Stanford, California