The SLI Phenomenon
Have you ever been out for an evening walk happily strolling along the footpath when suddenly the streetlight above you flickers off then comes back on as you leave? You’re not alone! Thousands of people around the world report this happening to them often. Once or twice could be written off as a faulty streetlight or other electrical fault but when it happens to the same people over and over again in different locations we have to ask ourselves is something more going on?
People that seem to cause street light interference sometimes refer to themselves as SLIders. SLIders sometimes report streetlights malfunctioning around them as often as several times a day. Some also report their presence having effects on other electrical devices such as:
Appliances such as lamps turn on and off without being touched
Lightbulbs constantly blowing
Volume changes on its own on music playing devices or TVs
Watches stop working
Children’s toys start by themselves or stop working
Credit cards lose their magnetism
What could be causing this phenomena?
Sceptics claim the whole thing is simply an example of confirmation bias. This means that people are only remembering the one or two times a street light has flickered around them rather than the hundreds or thousands of times they have been around one that hasn’t flickered. Skeptics would also point to the way some streetlights work as the cause. Some streetlights use chemical processes that as they age can become unstable and cause the light to flicker on and off in a cyclical pattern. Faulty light and motion sensors may cause a similar result. While this could explain some accounts of this phenomena some SLIders say that it happens far too often to just be a coincidence or confirmation bias.
For the accounts that can’t be explained by faulty lights or appliances there is a possibility that the electrical interference could be caused by electrical activity from within the person’s body. SLIders often report the malfunctioning of electronics is more likely to happen when they are in a heightened emotional state whether they be stressed, angry or excited. Perhaps this increased intensity of emotion energy can rarely be converted to electrical energy send out impulses that act as a kind of remote control to certain appliances.
In some cases it may just be down to the biochemistry of the individual. Something about their bodies may generate extra electricity or hold onto a static charge. They then accidentally discharge this current into devices when they touch them causing them to turn on or be damaged. It could also be that some people have an unusually strong magnetic field around their body which may interfere with electronics.
The intermittent nature of the phenomenon makes it difficult to determine what exactly is occurring. Scientific studies have been unable to replicate the phenomenon. More research is being done which may lead to more answers. You can read a number of anecdotal reports of SLI here.
Sources
http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/sliold1.html
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-that-some-people-cant-wear-watches-of-any-sort-for-very-long-without-them-breaking
https://www.liveabout.com/sliders-and-streetlight-phenomenon-2596547
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_light_interference_phenomenon