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It is astounding how much D-K this piece exhibits. On what basis does he think that virus-transmissive mask wearing is effective? Absolutely none. (He doesn't m

It is astounding how much D-K this piece exhibits. On what basis does he think that virus-transmissive mask wearing is effective? Absolutely none. (He doesn't mention equally plausible arguments about why it could be worse.) And then he goes on to mis-comprehend the parachute study, and predictably use it to justify doing not what experts recommend, but what non-experts want to believe. Also he really seems to mis-comprehend probability and confidence intervals -- like most people. A 29% chance of Trump winning should have been a five alarm alert that there was a significant chance of catastrophy -- even for Republicans. But we're too focused on the things that are very likely. (Like death, and as an American prelude, bankruptcy from health costs, being screwed by megacorps, taxes, and rich getting unfair tax breaks.) If car accidents weren't common and easily foreseeable, would we have insurance? Only if part of the system made us, based on risk analysis.

ddxxdd 7y ago
>On what basis does he think that virus-transmissive mask wearing is effective? His prior post has already proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt. https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-t... Perhaps that post is a prerequisite to this post.
- angry_octet 7y ago
  Well, we have different concepts of doubt. Also, he's talking about proper procedure masks (ASTM Level 1), not paper or cloth or home made masks. These are hard to come by, and in any case should be reserved for high risk situations. There are no studies that I can find showing woven fibre or paper mask effectiveness, especially in regards to the risk increased contact transmission from touching the mask.
  - ddxxdd 7y ago
    >There are no studies that I can find showing woven fibre or paper mask effectiveness Oh, well you're in luck. I have just the thing for you: https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/ https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-... This image is the quick, all-encompassing money-shot: https://smartairfilters.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Mask-Materials-Effectiveness-1-Micron-EN-768x558.jpg https://smartairfilters.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/202... You can make the argument that homemade masks won't reach those levels of effectiveness because of a lack of a strong seal around the airways. And there have been no real-world case studies of cotton masks protecting people from getting sick. But there are plenty of arguments to be made that support the idea that if 100% of the population wore a cotton shirt around their face, then the pandemic would be strongly mitigated.

ddxxdd 7y ago

>On what basis does he think that virus-transmissive mask wearing is effective? His prior post has already proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt. https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-t... Perhaps that post is a prerequisite to this post.

angry_octet 7y ago
Well, we have different concepts of doubt. Also, he's talking about proper procedure masks (ASTM Level 1), not paper or cloth or home made masks. These are hard to come by, and in any case should be reserved for high risk situations. There are no studies that I can find showing woven fibre or paper mask effectiveness, especially in regards to the risk increased contact transmission from touching the mask.
- ddxxdd 7y ago
  >There are no studies that I can find showing woven fibre or paper mask effectiveness Oh, well you're in luck. I have just the thing for you: https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/ https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-... This image is the quick, all-encompassing money-shot: https://smartairfilters.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Mask-Materials-Effectiveness-1-Micron-EN-768x558.jpg https://smartairfilters.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/202... You can make the argument that homemade masks won't reach those levels of effectiveness because of a lack of a strong seal around the airways. And there have been no real-world case studies of cotton masks protecting people from getting sick. But there are plenty of arguments to be made that support the idea that if 100% of the population wore a cotton shirt around their face, then the pandemic would be strongly mitigated.