Barefooting Bulletin Board

"Lazy thinking" is a term coined by our fearless leader, Brian. I like it because it describes the problem precisely. Lazy thinking is the phenomenon of people who cannot or will not think beyond the immediate present. It's the single biggest problem in the world today, the cause of virtually everything wrong on this planet.

Examples abound. My favorite is the infamous McDonald's coffee fiasco. Some lazy-thinking old woman puts hot coffee between her legs, unable to foresee the potential hazard, and gets burned. Rather than chalk it up to her own stupidity, she sues the company for having the audacity to provide coffee that stays warm till you get to the office. In court, twelve of the laziest thinkers on the planet, aka "the jury", decide this woman deserves a million dollars for being careless. These same people then can't understand why a cup of coffee that used to cost $.50 now costs nearly a dollar. I guess they figured McDonald's was just going to eat that million dollar settlement and the ensuing increased legal costs incurred by having to detect and defend against new suits.

Jails are full of lazy thinkers. A criminal record almost always ruins your life, yet people will risk it just to get a few dollars out of a convenience store cash register. They steal $50, buy some booze or drugs with it, then spend the next several years locked in a cage paying for it. The cost/benefit ratio of that choice is astronomically off balance.

Shoddies and podophobes are prime examples of lazy thinkers we are all familiar with. We've all heard the warnings about how walking barefoot will certainly cause us injury. These warnings come from people clearly unable to see beyond the tip of their nose. What's the number one danger we are warned about? Glass. How many of us have ever stepped on glass? How many of the shoddies have ever stepped on glass? I don't recall stepping on glass at all before I started 'footing, why would I expect it to suddenly become common afterwards? Is it a risk? Certainly, there's always the possibility. But there's also always the possibility I will cut my hand, yet I don't wear gloves. These people also seem to think that sandals or flip-flops provide adequate protection against these hazards despite the fact that they provide only the most minimal coverage. I have had nails poke right through the sole of a sneaker, I doubt any footwear prevents all possible injuries. Still these people insist that sandals are magical and will protect your feet better than bare skin if you drop a jar of mayonaise in the grocery store.

By default, barefooters are less lazy-thinking than shoddies. This is simply because we rely on experience and known facts to determine our actions are not only safe, but beneficial. However, for the sake of humanity we must strive to eliminate lazy thinking from every aspect of our lives, not just our choice in footwear. It only takes a few seconds to analyze the potential risks of an action. As much as we might love to experience the thrill of flight, we all know not to seek it by jumping off a bridge. We instantly determine the cost of the action, ie hitting the ground, is not worth the few seconds of pleasure. Chess players do this better than any other group. Every move they make is based on their assessment of potential countermoves by their opponent. Treat life as your opponent in an epic chess game. Make sure the benefits of your actions outweigh the real or potential costs.