As a child, I have always believed that surgical masks can be worn in two ways. It actually made sense, because it was like a signal to others—that when I am wearing blue out, it means I am sick; while when I am wearing white out, it means I just do not want pollens and dust to irritate me.
But recently, WHO posted a tutorial on how to use surgical masks. Apparently, there is only one way to wear it—colored side out. The colored side out is water-repellent, while the white side is absorbent.
My knowledge has been challenged by a credible person. So, I thought I should step out to their shoes and look at their perspective. I mean, that's WHO. Have I been wrong all this time?
Now that I am 23 and not a child anymore, I am sensible enough to find evidence. And there was only one thing I looked for.
The patent.
Surgical mask is a patented article, registered as US3170461A of 1965. There are many patent versions and citations pala. Specifically, refer to the photos attached. With that, I was able to verify what WHO said and debunk my childhood reality.
It was easy to accept the truth. Why? Because I sought for the truth, not the truth sought me. Someone challenged my belief, and I looked at me from their perspective, and I challenged my own belief, and found the answer.
Afterwards, I tried Googling "how to use surgical mask". This is the point where I was shook.
The whole first page of Google was about "debunk[ing]" my two-way thing and calling it a "hoax".
If we could turn back time and I could take you to the first page of Google when you search the same thing, there was NOTHING which says surgical masks can only be worn in one way.
How would I know? When somebody asks what I think, I will back that up with an online source. I always scroll all things on the first page of any Googling to verify that all search results are in harmony, even if that person tries to Google it on his own.
If there was something that said surgical masks should only be worn in one way, I would have seen that. But there was none.
In a dramatic way, the truth has been concealed. So people like me lived in the darkness continued to live in darkness, because no one surfaced the truth.
So, thanks to WHO for surfacing the truth. But WHO never mentioned about the patent. I just acknowledged WHO's information as worthy to put an effort to be researched because, well, that's the World Health Organization.
I was actually hurt when this was debunked. Parang ganito e, all your life, you believed you have this friend Zoey. Everyone supported you even if they knew Zoey did not exist. And then suddenly you grew up and you learned that Zoey is an imaginary person. No one corrected you before, then suddenly everyone acted that they were right all along. Well, they are, but they never spoke about it until such time you had raised yourself so that when they finally speak, the plunge will make an impact.
But again, it's just a surgical mask. It's easy to settle for the truth.
I am a person who always tries to research something before I speak, unless I am really sure about it that research only necessary for hard reference (because I don't memorize evry single link in my life, duh).
For surgical masks, it's not that I "did not research enough". It's just, I thought there was no need. And again, I did some research, right? I gave links, right? I said earlier that I saw all search results in the first Google page were in harmony.
I did reseach, on behalf of people who asked me to reseach even if they were fully capable of doing it. I led people to my "incorrect" belief. And now, I have been debunked.
I am open to their stones being thrown at me for the information I gave when you could have sought it yourself.
That's the most hurtful thing now. Just because you were wrong, you have to suddenly bear the accusations from people.
I like repeating "the people who could have done it themselves". It gives me a condolence and solace out of this really, really petty issue.
Thanks, nCoV, for making an event that made WHO cross my feed. Thanks to the person who tagged me to that video. Thanks to my profession which made me snap and research the most important thing ever:
The patent.
Hello, haters. I would like to say, "I bet you never even considered looking at the patent." Yah, that's the kind of actual douchebag I am. I said it anyway.
Now, I have to review my other childhood beliefs and see if there are other things I can correct.
Because I cannot rely on people to actually care to correct me with hard proofs. People will just pop out to persecute, not educate.
A lot of things happened in January.
My bottomlines are:
(1) when you are wrong, you are wrong;
(2) to disprove something, you need evidence;
(3) the burden of proof lies on who tries to debunk something, not on the one being debunked (which here, I was both, I researched the patent myself).
Always note that I have an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and that I will try to defend myself even if no one is asking.
I rest my case.
PS: I don't actually remember if it was really WHO I saw in the video. But well, WHO cares. It's the same thing.
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