Trendiness? Now *that's* horrible. Because when something becomes trendy it loses its original meaning and becomes important just because it's popular. When marketers get hold of it rationality and objective validity get ignored. There's something very very very powerful behind markets and trends. I just finished typing that pant leg width is not important, yet I'd probably take bullet before wearing bell bottoms right now. But skinny jeans are also horrible, and yet I've worn them and liked them. Now I hate them. Not to the point of wearing bell bottoms, but rather to a degree that says the extreme for its own sake is what's wrong here but it makes sense to have a smaller legged pant. This stuff is complicated.
Paleo Cornfusion
I hate the paleo diet. I hate the word "paleo". Makes my skin crawl. Yet I basically follow this diet. Why? NOT because I think I'm mimicking what the caveman did. I've railed on this before so I'll save it here except to say I hate it because of the trendiness and how people can't or won't think clearly and rationally about why it might be good, or not, to do. Trendiness takes over. The word "paleo" needs to go away because we couldn't possibly eat as the caveman did. The muffin made from almond flour is not paleo. Neither is the steak from Costco. A large chunk of Mammoth meat that's half rotten? Now THAT'S paleo. Can't eat it, though. See my point? People get confused about something that's not at all confusing or complicated. They don't think. They (and by they I don't just mean laymen, but even "experts") routinely equate paleo with low carb. They're not the same, at all. Just the other day I saw a very maddening headline. From The Smithsonian to boot. It said the paleo diet may need a rewrite. The gist was the paleo diet is wrong because Neanderthals actually ate a wide variety of plants. Ugh! If there's any diet besides vegan or vegetarianism that advocates eating lots of plants, it's the paleo diet! We know the caveman ate lots of plants, but even the experts can't seem to get around the over-simplified and over-emphasized meat focus. To the point that actual "experts" think the paleo diet is all meat. Ugh.
Anyway, I do generally follow the paleo diet and have benefited greatly, and I don't do it because I have caveman fantasies or even have the slightest idea what the caveman ate. But I've thought about what's at the core when you strip away the fad and trend, and it's eating whole foods close to their source with as little screwing with (processing) as possible, and with a wariness of sugar and sweetness and "recent" foods that may cause problems (grains, dairy), because they're "recent" or because the way they're grown and brought to market makes them unhealthy, or both, and a with critical eye to the likely overstated and incorrect "importance" of such things as whole grains. So I don't necessarily think that whole grains are bad for most people but they probably aren't good, certainly aren't great, and should probably be avoided, or viewed critically (and rationally). And I'm not dragging my knuckles on purpose when I say this.
Oh, and don't forget that your mileage may vary.
It's Minimalist to Take Off Your Shoes, It's Trendy to Pretend You're Barefoot
"Minimalist" or "Barefoot" shoes are another yet quite similar topic that I think is headed in the same direction as the paleo diet. They often accompany each other. It's another idea rooted in the caveman fantasy. It's ridiculously annoying and I hate the word "minimalist" with regard to footwear as much as I hate the word "paleo" with regard to diet. First of all, why is it called "minimalist" and not "minimal"? Do I need to sell all of my worldly possessions if I decide to wear these shoes? "Barefoot" is a more tolerable term, albeit contradictory, as you cannot possibly be barefoot while wearing shoes. Feel a headache coming on?
Anyway, the point of this podiatric "diet", or its contention, is that the more support and artificial posturing a shoe provides, the less your foot is able to do its natural thing to support your body and your movements, and therefore the less healthy our foot becomes over time. And of course modern shoes tout support and protection and all have heals and most have narrow fronts. Things like being able to feel the terrain in your feet, allowing your toes to flare out to support you, allowing free ankle movement and foot movement, and a natural foot posture are all things "normal" shoes don't allow and "barefoot" shoes do. Barefoot shoes don't elevate your heal ("zero drop"), they allow you to feel the ground (single digit millimeters thick very pliable sole), and allow your toes room to spread (wide "toe box").
Like the paleo diet I do mostly wear barefoot shoes, I have noticed positive changes in my feet, and do feel like the core idea behind the value of barefootedness and the danger of modern shoes is a valid one and I do believe keeping my feet and their job natural and strong will benefit me as I age. But the trends are as annoying here as they are in the diet realm. Plus, there's one step that I think the paleo diet has taken that the barefoot shoe world needs to mimic in order to gain any kind of foothold, so to speak, in the modern world and the market. In a word, style! Or maybe familiarity. Er... something!
Many people would never consider the paleo diet. "GIVE UP BREAD? NO WAY!" So paleo "marketers" and other shrewd business people have figured out a way to make something bread-like, at least enough bread-like that skeptics might try it. Yes, this is what I'm railing on here, but it's also the thing I see as the necessary step to help the movement gain acceptance. Paleo will never exist without almond-flour-based muffins, the very thing that makes the diet NOT paleo. The best way to follow the paleo diet would be to only eat meat, fish, fowl, eggs, seeds, nuts, vegetables and fruit (a recipe for extreme health!), with not much more "fixing" than cooking and seasoning. Yet most people can't do this and won't do this and have to have their pizza or pasta or cake or sandwich, etc. Yes, this is confusing. The main point for me is that almond flour based muffins are way better for me than wheat flour based muffins, and they're muffin-like enough for me to feel like this is not too weird and I can stick with it, provided that no-muffins are a deal-breaker for me (they're not). And as long as I ignore the word "paleo", I can handle it.
Most barefoot shoes are weird, and that's their problem. They look weird, dorkie, silly, and nothing like the shoes I'm used to. Sometimes I think barefoot shoe makers do this on purpose because they consider themselves just that radical, but I'm here to tell you unless you make a shoe that looks like something I have been wearing all my life, and LOVE, you ain't gonna get much market. I'll leave it to you to do your own research if you're interested, but the problem is most pronounced in the "sneaker-like" realm. Barefoot shoes designed to replace sneakers or sports shoes are all function and no form and don't remotely resemble a sneaker that I would wear for something other than sports or performance. And of course you realize I am wearing a sneaker for something other than sports or athletic performance MOST of the time.
Some examples
and let's not forget the weirdest of the weird:
Ick, yuck, ish, ugh, yack...
The Vivobarefoot Bannister is about the best I've found:
So I need a barefoot equivalent of the almond-flour muffin. I need a barefoot Chuck Taylor or Vans Old Skool. Then I might make the switch all the way.
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