– Man smiles, waves at toddler in stroller. Child does not react, stares blankly. Autistic?

– Young dog comes up to woman, friendly, wagging tail. Looks up, growls, bites her hand. Vicious?

No, in both cases problem was that person wore a mask. The child and the dog had no way to tell if the person was friendly.

Even worse, the child and the dog may have passed a critical period in their development, during which they needed to see faces in order to develop the ability to distinguish friends from enemies. But with two years of seeing everyone but their immediate family in masks, this critical period passed without the necessary stimulation.

Can I prove this? No. But I would bet serious money that it is true. Will scientists do the experiment necessary to see whether it is true? Probably not. Who would fund an experiment that might prove masking harmful? Who would dare to do the experiment, risking loss of academic position? Even if the experiment were done, what journal would publish it? It isn’t woke to criticize masking.

Science marches on. Or not.