This may sound like fun, but there's some evidence that the parachute analogy has been massively overused:
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29343497/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29343497/</a><p>Like the idea here is that there are some interventions that are so obvious that you don't need rigorous evidence to show they work. However as it turns out people use that analogy to justify interventions that did later turn out to not work.
This "review" is meant to highlight the absurdity of needing randomized control studies for things that are observationally obvious.<p>There is however a follow up RCT study that used actual jumpers to prove that parachutes do help <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094" rel="nofollow">https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094</a>
They did a follow up randomized experiment where people jumped out of planes (at 2ft) with and without parachutes.<p><a href="https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2019/02/breakthrough-research-reveals-parachutes-dont-prevent-death-when-jumping-from-a-plane/" rel="nofollow">https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2019/02/breakthrough-resea...</a>
Related SSC post: <a href="https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/the-phrase-no-evidence-is-a-red-flag" rel="nofollow">https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/the-phrase-no-evidence...</a><p>The Phrase "No Evidence" Is A Red Flag For Bad Science Communication
Article: "Data on parachutes found not to be conclusive"<p>Serious media: "Serious doubts on parachutes"<p>Tabloid portals: "Click to see the shocking truth on parachutes!"<p>Social media: "Parachute industry conspiracy! No-parachute jumping party at 11!"
^this<p>Hilarious.<p>One of the things that had most annoyed me in medicine since 1995,a slavish dedication to what I've come to call "evidence based nihilism". And a lot of the people who are most rigid do not treat patients but get promoted out of useful work.<p>The space of actual practice is far more complex and some applied science is actually called for.<p>What's worse, this kind of sanctimonious stringency (large industry/govt funded placebo DB RCT etc) is selectively applied to only certain practices, never to received wisdom or pet projects.
Masks work but so does the (non-)impression of a shielded face. Those aspects are luxuries maybe, but at some point, even granted the utilitarian outlook, it weights in on the Well-being calculus too. I feel sad for kids especially.