The TSA's Dumb Air-Security Rules Are Not Based on Science

[xchrom]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tsa-dumb-security-rules-not-science-based



The attacks of September 11, 2001, changed everything, especially in air travel. Since that day, the U.S. government has spent billions on technology, enacted rafts of new rules and turned flying into a far more upsetting, complicated procedure than it needs to be.

If it were all based on science and reason, critics might not be calling these new procedures “security theater”—an elaborate show to convince people that the authorities are doing something rather than nothing.

Take the Transportation Security Administration's rules about carry-on electronics, for example. Laptops have to come out of their bags and lie flat in a plastic tub—but not tablets, phones, Kindles, cameras or portable game consoles. Why the distinction?

The TSA says that it's not just about detecting explosives: removing bigger gadgets also unclutters your bag for better x-ray examination. Even so, on close inspection the rules get arbitrary very quickly. For example, according to the TSA, the 11-inch model of the MacBook Air is fine to leave in your bag, but the 13-inch model must be removed.

[RC]

1. Back when finger nail clippers were a big no-no, a man two seats in front and on the other side of

the aisle was knitting with 10 to 12 inch knitting needles, in flight! The heads had to be ¾ inch across. They looked big for the needles. Big enough to to allow the palm to pound them into someone. They'd make a good weapon. If the heads could be slipped off, who knows what could be hidden inside them.

[MountainLaurel]

2. Did anyone ever think they were?

I always assumed that most people realized it was all security theater.