People, what is wrong with you and your masks

There is something really wrong with majority of the people in the world. Yes, it is a matter of discussion whether the social distancing rules and wearing a mask is going to help in a pandemic. Yes, there will be arguments on both sides. But, the mask wearing side has always won. Now, there are many classifications on the attitudes of people wearing masks. Let us for a moment forget about the age old classifications based on caste/creed/color and what not and concentrate on masks. Oh...I heard you. What a waste of time. We could have continued our discussion on traditional classifications. You are interested more in it. You feel that is more colorful. You feel that is more relevant. You feel ..... OK, I understand. Shall we now get back to the masks...

Lot many people are still considering the present pandemic a conspiracy theory. I have always maintained neural ground and will not take any particular sides until it is so clear that there really are no sides. I have seen educated people talk non-sense. Let us leave the mask for a moment and come to the next item important, Oximeter. There are very clear instructions as to when you require an oximeter. Let us assume you have decided to home quarantine after testing positive or the doctor has advised home quarantine based on your past health. Now, two instruments needed will be a thermometer and the oximeter. In a six person home an oximeter might be a good buy. But the requirement is very clear. You should have an oximeter with you if you are showing any symptoms of the pandemic at hand. Will the oximeter save your life? No. It will tell you if your health in home quarantine is deteriorating and you should consult the hospital immediately. So, one person decides not to buy the oximeter not because he understood why it is required. He doesnt want to buy, because it is a conspiracy theory by the capitalist companies. By the way he is wearing a mask. Thank the force for that.

Let us come back to the masks. What is wrong with people. The mask is not a handkerchief. It is not be touched every milli-second. Let me see the different ways the masks are touched and handled by the public
1. Majority wear it because the government is levying fines for people not doing so.
2. Many are wearing substandard thin cotton masks, while we are talking about N95.
3. Many are wearing it at their chin.
4. Many are wearing it so loose that all the air going in and coming out might be full of the virus.
5. If they want to pull the mask down, they do so by holding it exactly in the middle an pulling it below their chin.
6. They again hold exactly the middle portion to pull it back.
7. They dont cover the nose and it is at the mouth level.
8. They are not washing it every day(if washable).

Am I an expert in recommending masks? No. I am only logical at it. So, what is the best mask?

1. An N95 mask wore properly covering the nose and the mouth down to the chin such that majority of the air going in and coming out is through the mask.

What other choices?

Though not medically recommended, masks made of multiple layers of cloth with criss-cross strands could be made at home. Preferably more than 3 layers. If possible a filtering medium in between the layers is recommended.

How to really wear it?

1. Hold the masks only at the strands which are for fixing it. Fix it such that it covers your nose and the mouth and you feel that majority of the air entering is through your mask only. You are not feeling the air entering through the sides of the mask. If this is not so then there is no point of wearing your mask.
2. Once you wear it, do not touch any portion of the mask. Move around as though you are not wearing them. Do not touch your face at any point of time.
3. If you want to remove it, again, hold them at the strands and make an arrangement for hanging the mask from the strands. Ensure that you or any others or any other thing does not touch the surface or the insides of the mask. To wear it again, follow step 2.
4. It is better you have a mask for the office work separately and keep it at the office.
5. If you are using masks made of layers of cloth, it is recommended to wash them everyday.

For better results with the mask, another important aspect is maintaining distancing. At any point of time maintain at least a minimum of 1 metre distance between everybody. And everybody in the vicinity also to maintain the same. It is not enough that you are wearing the mask properly and maintaining the distance. Everybody else should do so. This will minimize the payload, if it exists in any of the person in the group.

With all the above we are ensuring that the payload when delivered to our body, will be minimal and our immune system is capable of fighting that smaller payload.




Survive.

Education and logic

All this while the world has been telling that education is what is going to save the world from illogical conclusions. Yes, education has been successful on many accounts. It has been instrumental in telling the people about their past follies. It has been instrumental in making the people to read what is being presented to them. Is education the know-how of reading? Is education the imbibing of logical thought? Is education the know-how of writing a language. Is the result of education to read? What is education. In India there are night classes for the under-privileged and the senior people. The stress is on learning the alphabet, framing words and understand the dictionary meaning of the words. So once they can read a newspaper, they are educated. Now, what after the person can read a newspaper? Is education not bothered about how he should interpret it? Or should education not bother about the interpretation. Should the interpretation be forced on to the reader like in some countries? Should the interpretation be allowed to run free in all directions like in some countries. What is really the purpose of education? Is it to create a more radical consumer of goods/services/information?

Majority of our educational tools rely on "laws". We are told that we are not to question them. If this is not accepted by the child then the future of his education is a mess. Because all the future information he will get will be based on these laws. If the basic premise is not accepted then the kid will have a hard time to come to terms with the present world. If he accepts, it is smooth travel. He will come out a brick in the wall. Now, the thing is if given an option of accepting or not accepting, if the child chooses non-acceptance of the present laws of physics, of moral sciences, of mathematics, of logic, he has to make some of his own and he does make them as he progresses over his journey of life. This will be made based on his experiences, his interactions, his feedback, his successes, his failures,....The resultant human might become a brick in the wall, a special brick in the wall, a hammer which breaks and disturbs the wall, a builder who brings more brick into the wall. So the result can be pro-system and anti-system. Now, again, the meaning of system and anti-system might be different for different people based on their education.

So how should the educational system work? Should the system put only the questions and extract answers for all the questions from the student? Where does the student search for the answers? If he searches it within the present system, he will agree or disagree. If he disagrees will the educational system allow it and allow him to continue to the next question or try to play logic with his answers? Once the kid comes out with his answers how will he be able to cross-check his results? How is he going to cross-reference his conclusion. How is he going to validate his conclusion. Normally conclusions related to politics/society happens immediately. Either you like it or dont or you are not concerned/affected by the conclusions. Drawing a conclusion is one thing but pushing it down the throat of others is another. There are plenty of people in the "not concerned" sphere. These people can be very easily converted to the other side with a slight nudge normally through emotion altering strategies. The happiness of making people agree on your ideals is un-parallelled and this is exactly what is happening with f^&*b*&* and other walled social networks. All these networks are feeding on exactly this aspect of human education. Either they re-inforce the previous education or try to negate it emotionally. All this is again happening for identity. So, is the job of education to give identity, The general syllabus for all the students point to the fact that we want all kids to grow up in the same "particular" way, the same identity.

Will education save the world? Will education give the superpower of reading what is offered and analyze it, fact check it, prove it right or wrong. Will education make all people logicians? Will all the people of the world be logicians? Will logic rule the world and beat out all the ready to eat "isms"?Will.....?