I think I buy the premises here that being sick/getting sick is high cost and happens a lot at conferences, but I also think the cost of wearing masks is pretty non-trivial. I wonder if there are some 80⁄20 approaches to masking that can cover a lot of ground with lower costs. E.g., wearing a mask on transit on the way, as people also get sick/pick up bugs from planes/transit. Similarly, norms of not shaking hands, using air purifiers, or having more walking meetings all seem pretty cheap/easy to implement.
I think I buy the premises here that being sick/getting sick is high cost and happens a lot at conferences, but I also think the cost of wearing masks is pretty non-trivial. I wonder if there are some 80⁄20 approaches to masking that can cover a lot of ground with lower costs. E.g., wearing a mask on transit on the way, as people also get sick/pick up bugs from planes/transit. Similarly, norms of not shaking hands, using air purifiers, or having more walking meetings all seem pretty cheap/easy to implement.