# Debate 1 ## Proposition > "There's no evidence that masking reduces the spread of COVID19" ## Arguments ### Gold Standard Tho

P1) If RCTs are the FDA's gold standard for causal inference, then RCTs are required for a causal inference regarding mask effectiveness.
(P→Q)
P2) RCTs are the FDA's gold standard for causal inference.
(P)
C) Therefore, RCTs are required for a causal inference regarding mask effectiveness.
(∴Q)

[Proof Tree](https://www.umsu.de/trees/#(P~5Q),(P)|=(Q)) ### New Interventions Tho | **Definiendum** | **Definiens** | |:-------------------------------------------:|:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **N** | the medical intervention (x) is new | | **K** | the level of harm produced by the medical intervention (x) is known | | **R** | an RCT is generally required for a causal inference for that medical intervention (x) | | **c** | Required masking to reduce the spread of COVID |

P1) If the medical intervention is new and the level of harm produced by the medical intervention is not known, then an RCT is generally required for a causal inference for that medical intervention.
(∀x(Nx∧¬Kx→Rx))
P2) Required masking to reduce the spread of COVID is new.
(Nc)
P3) The level of harm produced by required masking to reduce the spread of COVID is not known.
(¬Kc)
C) Therefore, an RCT is generally required for causal inference for required masking to reduce the spread of COVID.
(∴Rc)

[Proof Tree](https://www.umsu.de/trees/#(~6x(Nx~1~3Kx~5Rx)),(Nc),(~3Kc)|=(Rc)) --- # Hashtags #debate #debate_opponents #clowns #clownery