I am one of those folks who were a late adopter of bike and later ski helmets. I avoided the certain embarrassment of my singing or dancing and spoke reluctantly to large gatherings. I think my issues revolved around self image and ego. I had not yet realized that it was ok to dance like no one is watching. I am a committed mask wearer today – it is the right thing to do to protect myself, my family and my community. I cannot mask my extreme irritation with our Fearless leader who refuses to wear a mask and encourages others to do the same— fine example to set as our nation and the world face this pandemic.
I was curious about the psychology of wearing a mask and came across a very interesting article in Psychology Today. An asteroid named 1998 OR2, seemed aware that it was flying by a pandemic. The space rock is 1.2 miles across and its eccentric orbit brings it relatively near to earth. It is likely such a space projectile devastatingly hit our earth nearly 66 million years ago – that asteroid was likely 6 miles across. Not to worry, the odds are way in our favor for no collisions through at least 2106. You can see from the NASA Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico that OR2 appears to be wearing a protective face mask and social distancing as it hurtles through space. More proof of intelligent beings in our Galaxy.
The Spanish Flu, according to Samuel Cohn, saw the U. S Public appear to “rebel much more over being forced to wear face masks than of the much more restrictive measures that interfere with their liberty and everyday lives.” The masks created a “somewhat surprising psychological impact on the population.” It is estimated there were 675,000 deaths in our country and over 50 million world wide. Turns out “our brains make decisions about the attractiveness of another person’s face within 13 thousandths of a second, processing so fast that it occurs below conscious awareness.” Studies show that hiding or blurring facial features actually “significantly increase the attractiveness to observers.” The mind fills in the blanks, Sadr and Krowicki, calculate the effect in a statistically dependable model to declare “50% less face” produces “40% more attractiveness.” This side benefit of mask wearing, in addition to saving lives, may be the key bit of scientific evidence to encourage Fearless leader and his ego to do the right thing.
Painful as it is to quote a supporter of this administration, Senator Rubio, who explained his impeachment vote “just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interests of the country to remove a President from office.” In a return to clarity, Rubio advised this week “everyone should just wear a damn face mask…”
Make yourself look good, wear a mask and refocus on those protocols that will begin to bend the curve. Mike