This is a short excerpt from Chapter One of the book:
Foot binding and pointy shoes
To compare the effects of an artifact, consider the one-time tradition of foot binding in China. At an early age, women’s feet were bound with cloth to stop them from growing more than four inches or so. Normal, big feet were considered alien to feudal virtues. If you were to ask these women why they subjected themselves to these artifacts and the resultant departure from the natural form they would probably say, “What departure?” They wouldn’t recognize the deformity, associated poor balance and lowered bone density as anything but the normal results of the aging process. The awkward gait wouldn’t seem unusual or funny because everyone walked that way. Or they might answer, “Yes, I understand, but it’s the price you pay to look good.”
