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Masks have become a political issue, unfortunately. If everyone using masks doesn’t deprive healthcare workers of PPE I’m all for it. I don’t think it’s fair t

Masks have become a political issue, unfortunately. If everyone using masks doesn’t deprive healthcare workers of PPE I’m all for it. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize people who said masks aren’t effective, though. It happens everywhere I look. China’s anti-US propaganda video mentioned this. It’s even here on HN. The reality is we don’t know much yet, and this is supported by current research. My understanding is it’s a better safe than sorry measure. What really bothers me is this is just one example of people turning against each other. Now more than ever we need to be united, not fighting.

ethanbond 6y ago
“it’s a better safe than sorry measure” is itself a bold claim to be making. It’s entirely possible that cloth masks are net negative due to: 1. False sense of security meaning people interacting closer to each other or 2. People touching their faces nonstop adjusting their mask People had the same line of reasoning for treating people with HCQ, and it’s beginning to look like HCQ might be safe for healthy patients but a death sentence for COVID patients. Even if this ends up not being true, it is absolutely possible that it is — which is why we need to learn more and do so very carefully. Life sciences is full of counter-intuitive results, many of which were learned through tragedy. That’s why the scientific community is so gosh darn careful about statements like, “it’s better safe than sorry.” If we don’t know whether it works, then we also don’t know whether it’s better safe than sorry.
- citrin_ru 6y ago
  False sense of security argument repeatedly used against the use of bicycle helmets, but I'm yet to see evidence, that having a helmet actually changes how a person rides a bike in any significant way. And I expect behavior with regard to masks to be very similar. In a short term a person without protective equipment (e. g. helmet) may behave more cautious, but after some time I expect behavior to regress to a normal pattern regardless the use of PPE: it is very hard to be on high alert for a long period of time.
  - ethanbond 6y ago
    Sounds like a good question to do some scientific research on before resorting to intuition in either direction (which of course shows the weakness of intuition). Just like what we should be doing with regards to masks.
- funcDropShadow 6y ago
  3. Cloth masks are filters. And filters are were stuff aggregates. So masks could reach high concentrations of other viruses and bactery, which everybody always have in their mouth and nose. But higher concentrations might become a problem when handled improperly.

ethanbond 6y ago

“it’s a better safe than sorry measure” is itself a bold claim to be making. It’s entirely possible that cloth masks are net negative due to: 1. False sense of security meaning people interacting closer to each other or 2. People touching their faces nonstop adjusting their mask People had the same line of reasoning for treating people with HCQ, and it’s beginning to look like HCQ might be safe for healthy patients but a death sentence for COVID patients. Even if this ends up not being true, it is absolutely possible that it is — which is why we need to learn more and do so very carefully. Life sciences is full of counter-intuitive results, many of which were learned through tragedy. That’s why the scientific community is so gosh darn careful about statements like, “it’s better safe than sorry.” If we don’t know whether it works, then we also don’t know whether it’s better safe than sorry.

citrin_ru 6y ago
False sense of security argument repeatedly used against the use of bicycle helmets, but I'm yet to see evidence, that having a helmet actually changes how a person rides a bike in any significant way. And I expect behavior with regard to masks to be very similar. In a short term a person without protective equipment (e. g. helmet) may behave more cautious, but after some time I expect behavior to regress to a normal pattern regardless the use of PPE: it is very hard to be on high alert for a long period of time.
- ethanbond 6y ago
  Sounds like a good question to do some scientific research on before resorting to intuition in either direction (which of course shows the weakness of intuition). Just like what we should be doing with regards to masks.
funcDropShadow 6y ago
3. Cloth masks are filters. And filters are were stuff aggregates. So masks could reach high concentrations of other viruses and bactery, which everybody always have in their mouth and nose. But higher concentrations might become a problem when handled improperly.