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On a virology podcast I started listening to after Covid started the hosts were, early on, mocking a woman for wearing a medical mask on a plane. I really thin
by Symmetry 6y ago
On a virology podcast I started listening to after Covid started the hosts were, early on, mocking a woman for wearing a medical mask on a plane. I really think it was mostly cognitive dissonance at the heart of it. If masks worked we would use them, we don't use them, therefore masks don't work. They rationalized reasons why wearing a mask was actually dangerous but you could just hear them making up their justifications in real time and they didn't make much sense.
Also, a huge amount of our day to day behavior is driven by habits and norms which we later rationalize when questioned. Even with good arguments you need early adopters out there being visible to shift norms. Visible success or high status adopters can be important too.
- brayhite 6y ago> On a virology podcast > mocking a woman for wearing a medical mask on a plane. I feel like these hosts have some combination of poor credentials, ginormous egos, or that toxic desire to play up a take to their audience. attention. I hope they acknowledged how foolish they were.
- Symmetry 6y agoNo more than typical people people as far as I can tell and they're all very well credentialed.
- splithalf 6y agoIf by “these hosts” you mean the field of epidemiology then we agree. Pretty sure the podcast in question is hosted by experts with great credentials, in their field.
- jfengel 6y agoI'd be curious to know who they are, because their credentials should be in doubt. Regardless of the effect of masks on COVID, there are some individuals who should wear them for a variety of indications. If they wear the right kind of mask and wear it properly, it can help them. They did it before the pandemic and will continue to do so after the pandemic is over. So simply observing that somebody was wearing a mask and making assumptions that there was no legitimate reason is simply bad public health. That's not just being wrong about COVID-19 and it's not just a lack of empathy for person who was herself unsure of the details and just doing her best. That's just wrong on the epidemiology.
- tinus_hn 6y agoWell obviously, as they don’t believe in magical mask theory, they have to be discredited!
- Jommi 6y agoWe're on the internet, can you just link to the episode where this happens instead of possible altering the story?