The Numbers Are In . . .

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

You are kidding, right? Sorry to be so complex.

That's the problem--you weren't complex. You simply cannot back up the hypothesis that HSMs are safer by using one person's experiences with them in relation to other similar experiences, especially when all the data is qualitative and is also the product of the experimenter.

The only thing that will show any differences between HSMs and traditional masks is longitudinal study--of which professional baseball has started. The fact of the matter is that injuries are so relatively rare that to develop a usable amount of data is going to take time (a point which has already been made.) The study needs to be longitudinal because these injuries have so many contributing factors that the style of protection may not be the main cause of the injury, and the more data that is collected, the more the trends can be evaluated.