I just discovered this "debunking" site against barefooting.
http://www.runningbarefootisbad.com/category/uncategorized/
I realize that the aim of the author is to get page hits and possibly tap the stream of potential incomes from shoe manufacturers... unfortunately shoe companies are less likely to finance bad science (aka "debunking") sites as for instance tobacco firms or climate change "sceptics". While the latter happily endorse such things, shoe company just jump massively into the new niche. Why shouldn't they? It's on one hand a new market and on the other it's a way of cajoling people into throwing away their old shoes and buying new ones.
I agree that a good amount of scepticism is basic for most of the things you meet in live... but you can't just try to "debunk" things throwing in a load of pure bullshit. Because one thing is citing counterfeit studies and making bad science and another quite different is being a total nut job. And I am afraid that our dear author belongs to the latter type. Just check out his statement:
http://www.runningbarefootisbad.com...efoot-running-really-does-make-you-blind/375/
Sorry, but my only reaction can be "WTF?"
There is unfortunately a thing called common sense and it tells me that the author of this study must be under the influence of extremely heavy substance abuse. You don't need to read Dr. Lieberman's study. You in fact don't need to read anything:
We are not born shod, sorry. And neither did we evolve shod. Even if you are a hardcore creationist you have to recall that there are right now some thousands of millions of people in the world who run and walk barefoot (does the word "Africa" ring a bell?).
I would also be extremely intrigued on how our poor blind ancestors were able to survive in the middle of Olduvai Gorge escaping lions and hyenas... or maybe the powerful World Lobby of Barefoot Scientists has hidden way the evidence of the fossilized Nikes with pronation control found next to Lucy's skeleton. Betcha, this Secret Government of Barefooters are surely conspiring to render us all blind in order to prepare an alien invasion and convert the Earth into a thrall of the Klingon Empire.
But the painful truth is that you don't even need to go as far as Africa or as back in time as the palaeolithic: Even if you don't believe that the world is older than a few thousand of years you need to recall that the Roman legions did run, and quite a lot actually, in what's barely a piece of leather strapped to their feet. And they didn't to too bad if you have to judge by the fact that they owned almost the whole of Europe and a good share of Asia and Africa. Not bad for a bunch of blind guys crippled by injuries!
And what about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila">Abebe Bikila</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zola_Budd">Zola Budd</a>. Bad news: barefoot running has always been part of regular athletic training.
To make matters worse, we all use to run barefoot when we are kids, doesn't we?
Thus: Where are these legions of blind and mutilated?
Sorry mate, your blog is fun I agree, but at least you could have left the comment enabled.
http://www.runningbarefootisbad.com/category/uncategorized/
I realize that the aim of the author is to get page hits and possibly tap the stream of potential incomes from shoe manufacturers... unfortunately shoe companies are less likely to finance bad science (aka "debunking") sites as for instance tobacco firms or climate change "sceptics". While the latter happily endorse such things, shoe company just jump massively into the new niche. Why shouldn't they? It's on one hand a new market and on the other it's a way of cajoling people into throwing away their old shoes and buying new ones.
I agree that a good amount of scepticism is basic for most of the things you meet in live... but you can't just try to "debunk" things throwing in a load of pure bullshit. Because one thing is citing counterfeit studies and making bad science and another quite different is being a total nut job. And I am afraid that our dear author belongs to the latter type. Just check out his statement:
http://www.runningbarefootisbad.com...efoot-running-really-does-make-you-blind/375/
Sorry, but my only reaction can be "WTF?"
There is unfortunately a thing called common sense and it tells me that the author of this study must be under the influence of extremely heavy substance abuse. You don't need to read Dr. Lieberman's study. You in fact don't need to read anything:
We are not born shod, sorry. And neither did we evolve shod. Even if you are a hardcore creationist you have to recall that there are right now some thousands of millions of people in the world who run and walk barefoot (does the word "Africa" ring a bell?).
I would also be extremely intrigued on how our poor blind ancestors were able to survive in the middle of Olduvai Gorge escaping lions and hyenas... or maybe the powerful World Lobby of Barefoot Scientists has hidden way the evidence of the fossilized Nikes with pronation control found next to Lucy's skeleton. Betcha, this Secret Government of Barefooters are surely conspiring to render us all blind in order to prepare an alien invasion and convert the Earth into a thrall of the Klingon Empire.
But the painful truth is that you don't even need to go as far as Africa or as back in time as the palaeolithic: Even if you don't believe that the world is older than a few thousand of years you need to recall that the Roman legions did run, and quite a lot actually, in what's barely a piece of leather strapped to their feet. And they didn't to too bad if you have to judge by the fact that they owned almost the whole of Europe and a good share of Asia and Africa. Not bad for a bunch of blind guys crippled by injuries!
And what about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila">Abebe Bikila</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zola_Budd">Zola Budd</a>. Bad news: barefoot running has always been part of regular athletic training.
To make matters worse, we all use to run barefoot when we are kids, doesn't we?
Thus: Where are these legions of blind and mutilated?
Sorry mate, your blog is fun I agree, but at least you could have left the comment enabled.
