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Those charts do not show any information regarding the effectiveness or otherwise of mask wearing. There is no information about what proportion of the populat

Those charts do not show any information regarding the effectiveness or otherwise of mask wearing. There is no information about what proportion of the populations actually wore masks, how close people actually got to each other, what the population density and degree of urbanization is, etc. In Norway we mostly have not had strict lockdowns and have not had compulsory mask wearing until very recently and our infection rates and death rates are lower than most other countries as shown on the charts. But you need to be careful how you interpret that; Norway has a relatively low population density and a large proportion of jobs are of a type that can be done at home. So pretty much everyone who could work from home immediately did so (a lot did anyway). We also have a strong tradition of solidarity; unlike the UK 'We're all in this together!' is not just a slogan. Our government has also been largely consistent in the advice that it has issued and, with a couple of exceptions, avoided overreacting which means that people are willing to adhere to the rules even though most are just advice and not enforceable. Most charts from all sources, and especially things like the Federalist, should be taken with a shovel of salt; not because of what they include but because of all the information that is omitted.

thepangolino 6y ago
First of all, thank you for taking the time for a rebuttal. >There is no information about what proportion of the populations actually wore masks If you had scrolled a bit, you'd have seen the chart linked highlighting compliance rates: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/international/articles-reports/2020/03/17/personal-measures-taken-avoid-covid-19 https://yougov.co.uk/topics/international/articles-reports/2...
- kwhitefoot 6y ago
  Sorry, missed that. I looked at the chart titled 'Avoiding going to work' and was bemused because I couldn't see the line for Norway, where I live. When I turned of the Asia, and US I was able to see it. It would be interesting to know the expected error of the surveys that were used to generate that because the impression I have is that vastly more than 18% of the Norwegian working population is working from home. In fact even in normal times a lot of people work from home a significant fraction of the time. So I am still of the opinion that such charts don't tell us very much and in particular they do not tell us how much we can rely on them. And one last point: there is a chart showing that 40% of Norwegians say that they are 'Avoiding physical contact with tourists'. What tourists? There have been essentially zero foreign tourists in Norway since March and internal tourism has practically disappeared a well so what meaning, if any, can be associated with such a statistic.

thepangolino 6y ago

First of all, thank you for taking the time for a rebuttal. >There is no information about what proportion of the populations actually wore masks If you had scrolled a bit, you'd have seen the chart linked highlighting compliance rates: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/international/articles-reports/2020/03/17/personal-measures-taken-avoid-covid-19 https://yougov.co.uk/topics/international/articles-reports/2...

kwhitefoot 6y ago
Sorry, missed that. I looked at the chart titled 'Avoiding going to work' and was bemused because I couldn't see the line for Norway, where I live. When I turned of the Asia, and US I was able to see it. It would be interesting to know the expected error of the surveys that were used to generate that because the impression I have is that vastly more than 18% of the Norwegian working population is working from home. In fact even in normal times a lot of people work from home a significant fraction of the time. So I am still of the opinion that such charts don't tell us very much and in particular they do not tell us how much we can rely on them. And one last point: there is a chart showing that 40% of Norwegians say that they are 'Avoiding physical contact with tourists'. What tourists? There have been essentially zero foreign tourists in Norway since March and internal tourism has practically disappeared a well so what meaning, if any, can be associated with such a statistic.