Further into the article, it describes a study done on mice that implies a causal link.

Just wait for your eye appointment. Looking up symptoms online always gives worst-case scenario results. Don’t worry about anything you see online unless your doctor tells you to.

You’re second point is a good one, but you absolutely can log the IP which requested robots.txt. That’s just a standard part of any http server ever, no JavaScript needed.

This makes perfect sense. Thank you!