If you want to wear masks go ahead, but the fact remains there is no evidence that they work.
Lack of evidence for something not working is not evidence that it works.
2 Likes
You guys remember those Japanese infrared videos where they compared and showed what happens with liquid droplets when someone coughs or sneezes on an escalator full of people? They compared and showed the results with or without masking. Maybe one could guess which one limited the astonishing spread of droplets when people sneeze or cough.
Guy
4 Likes
I wear one when Iām sick, to avoid spreading germs.
3 Likes
About 80% of Taiwanese wearing masks on mrt this morning. Men slightly less likely to be masked. But no one seems to care that I am not wearing a mask, so all is good as far as I am concerned.
You seem to have a very strong emotional investment in whether or not a piece of technology works or not. Iām really confused about why that is.
I worked as a patent examiner for 8 years and saw literally thousands of inventions. Some of them were totally crazy, some of them quite good and most were pretty forgettable.
I never felt any emotions about whether it worked or not. So Iām kind of confused about why you do.
2 Likes
The main tone of this thread (nearly a thousand posts!) is an emotional screed decrying a basic public health measure that people in Taiwan follow. Of all the things to whinge about, I remain mystified why emotional screeds against masking remain a priority. I personally prefer whinging about the traffic which I view to be far more impactful on my potential wellbeing!
Guy
3 Likes
Thereās no emotions from me. If thereās a piece of technology that makes me get sick less, Iāll use it.
Iām just unconvinced that masks are that technology.
I donāt have any emotional investment into whether any technology works or not.
2 Likes
Anti-maskers have the mentality of toddlers, so I am not surprised they fail to grasp that concept.
Incidentally, this post reminded me of that video of anti-masker ranting ina shop and being carried out by his embarassed son/
Wrong again. I have a pet peeve towards stupidity
I teach people to read and write research
It seems my pointing out your illiteracy has triggered you emotionally and now you are hallucinating.
e.g. here they tested sick people wearing different masks and how much it reduced the viral load in total exhaled breath
After controlling for the number of coughs during the sampling period, age, sex, BMI, and SARS-CoV-2 variants, N95 respirators reduced viral load in total exhaled breath aerosol by 98% (95% CI: 97ā99%), followed by cloth masks with a reduction of 87% (95% CI: 77ā92%) (Table 2). Surgical masks reduced exhaled viral load by 74% (95% CI: 65ā81%). KN95 respirators reduced exhaled viral load by 71% (95% CI: 59ā79%), and by 76% (95% CI 64ā84%) after excluding the three with unknown brands
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(24)00192-0/fulltext#sec-3
3 Likes
Ok, so the problem is that most masks only stop aerosols over 5 microns, but the vast majority of viruses are under 5 microns. Kind of like using a chain link fence as a mosquito net.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786826.2025.2453587?src=
This paper helps explain the disconnect between mask efficacy and the fact that they showed no real world reduction in viral spread during the pandemic.
So Iām sure the results of your study are correct, but theyāre probably looking at the wrong size of aerosols.
no
Oh look
Shocker
The aerosols break down into smaller and smaller particles. They arenāt static and they arenāt one size. Itās called a multi phase cloud.
3ā¦2ā¦1ā¦and sneeze.
I think two different points are being argued; whether masks do their job in a controlled environment and whether they make a material difference to transmission rates in practice.
1 Like
During the first āSARSā in Taiwan, someone here posted a study which concluded the masks did not work. I didnāt wear a mask back then, even though people thought the end was nigh.
1 Like
Just returned from a Friday night visit to a lively shopping mall, and out of hundreds of shoppers and staff I saw (including plenty of Asians), zero were wearing face masks, it was so refreshing and soā¦ normal!
As for the recent debate here about the efficacy of masks, I suppose if youāre coughing and hacking then they might prevent some droplets from spreading, but otherwise, whatās the point of wearing the damn things all the time?? In this 2025 version of Taiwan, millions of healthy people are still wearing themā¦for what reason again??
Why do I care? Well, when I return I will still have to see them everyday and try to understand what people are saying when they keep covering their mouths like itās still 2020-2022!! Come on Taiwan, move on and put this whole covid behavior behind us!!
1 Like
What people actually talk to you ?
Jokeā¦manā¦joke.
Lol, since you askedā¦ many coworkers, students, taxi drivers, and virtually every worker that talks to me at a shop, restaurant, museum, convenience store, bank, and tax office are all masked up in 2025ā¦
Many workers at shops and restaurants are required to wear masks. You probably know this, but some people may not.