Quote of the day:
“Patriotism is the madness of many to profit by the interest of a few.” – Voltaire
Made me think:
🧠 Overgeneralisation Bias
Coined in psychology by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s, the overgeneralisation bias describes our tendency to draw broad, sweeping conclusions from a single event or limited evidence. In other words, we take one data point and incorrectly make it “the rule.” (I can think of a few politicians )
In design: one successful product often tempts brands to flood the market with endless variations — but what works once doesn’t always scale. Think of when a “hit sneaker” spawns countless uninspired versions until it burns out the original idea. Could this be generative Ai's seed of destruction?
The Cantabrian Albarca: The Three-Pegged Clog
On a recent research trip to Spain I came across the Cantabrian albarca, a rustic wooden shoe carved from a single piece of wood, still worn in rural Cantabria, northern Spain near Sandtander. (In neighbouring Asturias, they're called madreñas) It’s a new entry for my shoe encyclopedia — (now over 1,000 shoes and shoe-related terms strong and still growing)
The albarca is unusual: instead of a flat sole, it has three dowels “tarugos” underneath that elevate the foot from the ground. This simple but ingenious feature makes them incredibly practical in Cantabria’s damp, muddy climate — perfect for farm work, snow, and rough terrain, not too dissimilar to a victorian patten.
The earliest written mention appears in 1657, when King Philip IV requested the Pope to create the Diocese of Santander. By 1752, the profession of albarquero (clog maker) was recorded in villages across western Cantabria. These shoes were the rural worker’s defence against water, mud, muck and cold.
Today, only a handful of craftsmen remain, carving albarcas to order — either for functional use or as regional souvenirs. Machines produce cheaper copies elsewhere, but the true craft is slipping into extinction. An original pair is a rare find!
Question to Ponder:
The Cantabrian albarca reminds me of how design evolves from necessity, climate, and culture. A wooden shoe with three dowels seems odd in a gallery, but perfect in a muddy Cantabrian field. In an Ai generative design world, how can we ensure we don’t lose the deeply local, environmental logic that makes objects timeless in their own context, or original?
