Even better, the six foot rule itself was always a rough approximation of a best guess to reduce really dumb behavior (like getting within inches of each other at a bar and yelling all night type stuff, or huddling around each other), not based off any rigorous analysis of any kind I could find.

Risk decreases significantly with distance, but I’ve found zero scientific evidence that 6 feet is somehow better or fits some set of trade offs better than other numbers (10? 4? 30?).

There has been a lot of cargo cultish behavior, and just dumbness too - like how we got stuck on cloth masks when we could all just be sent properly rated respirators at this point for less (that would be more comfortable AND actually work!) is beyond my ability to comprehend.