The big aerosol blunder

[OwlHoot]

2021-05-13 The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill

[ladymuck]

That was a really interesting read, thanks!

[NotAllThere]

Really good.

[cojak]

I feel somewhat justified in ignoring early advice not to bother with face masks then...

[ladymuck]

I feel somewhat justified in ignoring early advice not to bother with face masks then...

I think that's opposite isn't it? They wanted face masks, proper ones rather than bits of old t-shirt, because it's an airborne spreader?

[NotAllThere]

I feel somewhat justified in ignoring early advice not to bother with face masks then...

But was your opinion based on aerosol science or common sense. Common sense is more often wrong than science <citation needed > - logically then, it's better to stick to science. It won't guarantee your survival, but it will overall increase the chances. So while you might feel justified, really you were just lucky.

[vetran]

This is truly terrifying after all these years of study such basic errors go unchallenged. One thing is clear the pandemic has forced us to re-examine many of our preconceptions.

The only positive is it seems though millions will die from covid now many more may be saved in the future by a better understanding of viruses overall.

[ladymuck]

I shared the article with HWMBO and his first comment was "ego". There's a heck of a lot of people with inflated egos in the sciences. It's not the noble endeavour of hollywood movies, it's who you know, whether your theories are fashionable, whether someone more powerful than you supports your idea, or if your theory contradicts dogma or someone more esteemed than you.

And cross-discipline scientists are often looked down upon as being the worst of them all yet it's often the multi-disciplinary approach that brings the most benefits.

[minestrone]

The virus spreads most effectively in the immediate vicinity of a contagious person, which is to say that most of the time it looks an awful lot like a textbook droplet-based pathogen.

So "it looks an awful lot like" lower standard masks will work.

Anyway, the WHO...

"It's not contagious", "won't get out of china", "don't stop flying" and "masks don't work".

Let's face it, they are utterly crap and Trump was right to ditch them. Caprice showed more insight.

[cojak]

I think that's opposite isn't it? They wanted face masks, proper ones rather than bits of old t-shirt, because it's an airborne spreader?

I quickly dumped the old t-shirts for the single-use face masks.