Though I guess any analogy like this can get bogged down once one starts digging into the details, the basic theme here, “people are inherently broken,” is the same. But this notion that people are inherently broken isn’t one that we are born with… we have to learn it, whether we learn it from Sunday school or from running magazines. My 5-year old doesn’t think he needs shoes to run! And though he certainly knows there is right and wrong, I don’t think he believes he is inherently sinful. :)

There may be something less profound going on, though. Humans are a tool-using species. We know how well tools can work for all sorts of things. So it’s probably just natural for most people to assume that using a tool can help. It’s unusual to find an art where tools are a hindrance, but I think for many people running shoes are just that. Cheers!

ps By the way, there’s lots of info and discussion about barefoot running at the Barefoot Runners Society: http://www.barefootrunners.org/build2/

This is an interesting theory and worth exploring as a part of the wider research on barefoot/minimal running etc. However, as with anything even just being alerted to something like that is in itself the beginning of a solution and the path to more questions. It’s quite awesome.