Masks are kind of like marshmallows...

 And once again, the famous Stanford marshmallow study (see also the great New Yorker cartoon here) explains everything!  The Stanford neurobiologist, Robert Sapolsky  reported wrote an opinion piece this past week for CNN's website entitled, "Wearing a mask is like turning down a marshmallow", in which he referred to the famous study on delayed gratification from the the early 1970's.  The study was conducted by the investigators Walter Mischel, Ebbe Ebbesen, and Antonette Zeiss and involved (over time) about 600 preschool-aged children.  Basically the children were placed in a room and told to sit in a chair at a table.  The investigators placed a plate on the table with a special treat - a marshmallow (hence, the name of the experiment), Oreo cookie, or pretzel.  Each child was told that he or she could eat the treat now or wait 15 minutes and get a second treat as well.  A surprisingly small number of children chose to eat the marshmallows immediately, thereby foregoing a chance at a second treat.  Approximately one-third of those children were able to resist the temptation to eat the marshmallow and wait the required time to earn a second treat.  

The results of the follow-up studies showed some really interesting findings that are relevant to the whole mask argument today.  Those children who were able to wait the full 15 minutes for the second treat had higher SAT scores, higher educational attainment, lower body-mass index (BMI) as adults, lower rates of substance abuse and addiction, and greater overall success.  Delayed gratification appears to be an important cognitive skill.

Here is Sapolsky's point.  We are being asked to wear our masks, wash our hands, and socially distance ourselves from each other.  The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up this Thursday (at least in the United States), and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control is asking us to forego our normal holiday travel and gatherings.  All of this is designed to buy time.  Wearing masks and socially distancing doesn't eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.  Rather, wearing masks and socially distancing keeps us from getting sick until the day that a vaccine is available.  In other words, wear the mask now and the "reward" will come later - another case of delayed gratification.

I am tempted to make a statement about how some of our leaders in government have made wearing a mask a political issue, but I won't.  I just wonder how these same leaders would have done in the marshmallow experiment as children.  Hmm.  I just wonder.  Check out the New Yorker cartoon again.