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“You Should Get a Reusable Mask” by jefftk
A pandemic that's substantially worse than COVID-19 is a serious
possibility. If one happens, having a good mask could save your life.
A high quality reusable mask is only
$30 to
$60, and I think it's well worth it to buy one for yourself.
Worth it enough that I think you should order one now if you don't
have one already.
But if you're not convinced, let's do some rough estimation.
COVID-19 killed about 0.2% of people (20M
of 8B). The 1918 flu killed more like 2.5% (50M
of 2B). Estimating from two data points is fraught, but this gives
you perhaps a 0.02% annual chance of dying in a pandemic. Engineering
could
make this much worse, especially given progress in AI, but let's set
that aside for now to make a more conservative case.
A reusable mask ("elastomeric respirator") would be really valuable [...]
---
First published:
October 8th, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wXwjMbtiSqALMEw2g/you-should-get-a-reusable-mask
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.
View all episodes
By LessWrongA pandemic that's substantially worse than COVID-19 is a serious
possibility. If one happens, having a good mask could save your life.
A high quality reusable mask is only
$30 to
$60, and I think it's well worth it to buy one for yourself.
Worth it enough that I think you should order one now if you don't
have one already.
But if you're not convinced, let's do some rough estimation.
COVID-19 killed about 0.2% of people (20M
of 8B). The 1918 flu killed more like 2.5% (50M
of 2B). Estimating from two data points is fraught, but this gives
you perhaps a 0.02% annual chance of dying in a pandemic. Engineering
could
make this much worse, especially given progress in AI, but let's set
that aside for now to make a more conservative case.
A reusable mask ("elastomeric respirator") would be really valuable [...]
---
First published:
October 8th, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wXwjMbtiSqALMEw2g/you-should-get-a-reusable-mask
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.
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