I don’t usually blog about politics, but when it intersects with science and scientific matters, I may decide to make a few comments. Like today. First, a little about masks.
Masks are a key component in our ongoing battle against being infected with coronavirus (and influenza, since the flu season is upon us), but the masks we have been given aren’t the most effective to do the job. I wear a mask every time I go out, and I’m always concerned about the poor design of the mask I have to wear, and the masks I see others wearing. A mask should do two things: one, prevent the wearer from breathing in the tiny particles from others that may contain the virus, and, two, prevent particles from one’s own breathing from getting to others. But I’ve never found a mask that did that effectively. All masks I’ve tried fogged my glasses badly, which means some of my exhaled breath is going up past the top of the mask. That means, in turn, that exhaled air is getting out without being filtered through the matrix of the mask. I can only guess how much air that I breathe in is unfiltered. I can also feel some air going out around the edges of the mask, particularly around the bottom. And I have no idea how many others I encounter are having the same issues with their masks.
All of the air, in and out, should go through the matrix of the mask, not around the edges. Not doing so simply limits the effectiveness of the mask. So, what to do? First, let’s get rid of those ridiculous ear loops. A mask should be held tightly to the face by straps or elastic bands that go around the head, but those ear loops hold the mask in place only so far as they keep it from falling off. They don’t hold a mask tightly enough. Second, masks should have some sort of air damming material around the edges to confine air into the center where it will be forced out through the fabric. The masks I have simply lie on my face; there’s little air restriction, and I have a helluva time trying to keep the air from fogging my glasses. It’s enough to make me want to go back to contact lenses (though I don’t think I will.) We can have better masks. I suggest someone try.
Second, a little about doctoral degrees. Much has been made recently about Dr. Jill Biden’s use of the “Dr.” title in her name. As though it were an epithet. If it was conferred by a legitimate university, she has every right to use it. But it should be borne in mind that the term is designed to mean that a person has studied a certain subject in depth and detail, not merely that one has delivered a baby. The M.D. degree is given to graduates of medical school, which indicates that those medical students have studied medicine in quite a bit of detail. I got my PhD degree after studying viruses for six years in graduate school. Jill Biden got hers after studying the US educational system, in–I assume–some detail. So doctoral degrees are conferred early in a person’s career, not near the end. Getting an MD degree doesn’t necessarily mean a medical student has delivered a baby. If someone thinks that only a person who has delivered a baby is allowed to call him/herself “doctor,” that’s a very limited view of the practice of medicine.