Woof, talk about making it up as you go! You've neglected to consider any
of the actual elements that appear to cause wood to conduct, etc.. You've
completely ignored the real components of impedance in the presence of
humidity, chemicals, and any material you mentioned. You look pretty bad
with statements such as these becuase as stated they are incorrect.

w_tom wrote:
Static electric charges can build across shoes. Touch something such
as a door or electronics. How does a circuit conduct electricity from
finger to charges beneath those shoes? Many parts in that circuit are
not conductive? But at those higher voltages, things not considered
conduct become conductive.

Yes, an appliance without a better connection to earth will be less
susceptible to damage. This is why some things are damaged whereas
others are not. Even wall paint may become a conductor at these
voltages. It is not possible to isolate an appliance from destructive
transients. Otherwise lightning could not conduct through the best
insulator - 3 miles of air.

Why does lightning strike a wooden church steeple? Wood is not a
conductor? That is your reasoning. But wood is both a conductor and
a connection to earth. Concrete is not a conductor according to your
reasoning. But concrete is such a good conductor as to be recommended
- Ufer ground.

Protection has always been about earthing transients so that
destructive paths are not found through appliances or through wooden
church steeples.

You are assuming things not conductive when a building is chock full
of conductive paths to earth. Just another reason why every high
reliability building earths before transients enter a building. They
know better. A transient permitted to electronics can find surprise
paths to earth. Best protection which is also less expensive and easy
to implement has always been to earth before a transient can enter a
building. One properly earthed 'whole house' protector is that
effective.

We are not protecting from close lightning strikes. Protection
already inside appliances makes that irrelevant. We are protecting
against a direct strike to AC mains down the strike which is a direct
strike to every household appliance. Only some appliances
destructively earth that direct strike. Which ones? You do not know.
But that answer is irrelevant if the direct strike is earthed before
it enters a building. Some utilities are earthed directly (cable TV
and satellite dish). Others require a 'whole house' protector (AC
electric and telephone). But that protection will only be as good as
a single point earth ground.

Again, this was both a problem and solution well understood way back
in the early 1900s. The technology so effective that your telco
installed it on every phone line. Why would a telephone operator in a
wooden room become a path to earth via non-conductive headphones and a
wooden chair? Those become conductive paths to earth through her
body. Why did that telephone operator not remove her headset when
thunderstorms approached? Even long before WWII, single point
earthing was well proven protection. The need for earthing has been
that well understood for that long. Otherwise lightning could find a
path to earth through that operator. If Pete C's reasoning was
correct, the operator was never at risk. Telcos knew better. Even
those non-conductive headphone and wooden chair could become a
conductive and harmful path to earth.

Protection is about earthing before transients can enter a building.
One 'whole house' protector is defined by the quality of its earthing.

Pete C. wrote:
I already covered that in another reply. A device with no ground
will be unaffected by a common mode surge up to the point of
insulation breakdown through for example, the plastic case of the
device, the wood table it's on, the carpeting under the table, etc.
Basically a very close lightning strike which no affordable
protection device will be able to protect against.