I think it's conceivable that masks reduce transmission rates in certain situations. Could increase it too if it leads to less distancing. If masks are completely stupid I doubt we would see their use in high-IQ Asian societies. They have adopted them for a long time, first masks I saw in Sweden were by Asians.
But what is lost by a masked society? We lose a lot.
Right.... I spent a lot of time in China/Malaysia/Taiwan and Korea, pre Covid. Some people wear masks, some don't. The number one reason is particulates. Ever been in Beijing during a smog event? You can wipe the fricking particles off your car window. This has absolutely nothing/nada/zip about disease transmission. lol
As for those "high IQ's" uhhh, nope. Most Asians are freaking retarded. I gave a talk at a Chinese aerospace consortium- room full of PhDs. The questions I got were on par with high schoolers. Most Asian tech is stolen from the US and elsewhere.
Probably the smartest people, on average, I have ever dealt with, are from Northern Europe. That includes Scandinavia, Finland, Germany. The farther south you go the dumber they get, haha. The Russians are notably a very brilliant group and I get along very well with them