Spying on the Bilderbergers--There is a giant owl with sneakers on!

[Nyal]

The Bilderberg Hotel.

Of course, we all know about this place, don't we? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group Every year the hotel, in an effort to turn a profit in this tight world economy, waives its no smoking policy for a large conference room so smoky back room deals can take place among the worlds most elite and powerful podiatrists. (I may be conflating this with the Bohemian Grove, or maybe the Lizard Jews, or something)

Anyways, apparently they all get together near the end of the conference near a large owl statue with shoes on and sacrifice a barefoot runner, you know, 'making bones' and all that. Imagine how suprised I was to find that they have a forum. Well worth the read, all 24 pages. http://www.podiatry-arena.com/podiatry-forum/showthread.php?t=43282

Report back here after looking, so we know it wasn't you this year who saw the owl.

 

[C. Beth Run.]

I'm on page 5...not sure if

I'm on page 5...not sure if I'll make it through all 24 pages, but I have to say I think it's a great discussion. Especially on page 4 or so when a barefoot runner comes in to make his case, and they discuss things with him...level-headedly on both sides. Worth the read.

There's been a thread on this before (I think you may have started it, Nyal?), after the McDoughall/Burfoot/podiatrist interview, about how we need to be careful in the BFR community, that we're not turning into a bunch of pseudoscientists, picking and choosing what studies we'll consider, and reinterpreting evidence to say something it doesn't really mean. (And maybe we should be more careful about run-on sentences too? But I'll let it stand for now!)

I'm a Christian who's pretty passionate about my belief in evolution (though honestly I don't talk about that a lot in conservative Christian circles...) and who is really bothered by the "evidence" presented by creationists. I thinik it's fine if someone wants to say, "I believe in a young earth and special creation because the Bible says so." That's honesty. Turning it into "I believe in a young earth and special creation (or intelligent design) because science proves it" requires pseudoscience.

Similarly, I think we can honestly say, "I run barefoot because it works well for me, and it makes sense to me." But can we HONESTLY say, "I run barefoot because science has proven that it's better"? So far, there's just not enough research to say that. I think we need to be careful about the scientific claims we make. Maybe in 50 years (or 20 or 10) there will be enough research to draw accurate conclusions about how barefoot running, shod running (in heavily cushioned shoes) and shod running (in minimalist shoes) compare when it comes to injury prevention and performance. Until then, let's do what works for us and encourage others to experiment safely to find what works for them too.

Thanks for the link, Nyal!