Tommy, are you any relation to Kyle.

: "Greenland paddle is more efficient"
: "Greenland paddle is easier on your body"

: Really, let's take a look: 1 "More efficient" ?
: There is a Latin term used in the field of logical reasoning "reductio
: ad absurdum".
: All English speakers will intuitively understand its meaning.
: "Reduction to absurdity" applied to greenland paddle: since the low
: profile of greenland paddle is what makes it "more efficient" ,
: the ultimate greenland paddle will be a round stick.
: Round stick produces very little resistance hence must be uber-king of
: greenland paddling.
: The fact that round stick will do little to move the boat forward and a lot
: to produce vortex as it moves through the water
: greenland paddle proponents will conveniently skip.

: 2. "Easier on your body" ?
: Yes, since it produces less resistance, our muscles do not work as hard.
: What about the frequency and total stroke count? It takes more 'greenland
: strokes' to move the boat a given distance.
: Our bodies do have a hard lifetime limit how many times we can bend our knees
: or swing our arms. Greenland paddle uses up that limit faster.
: Muscles are very adaptable and resistant to wear and tear. The tendons and
: joins are a different story.
: Greenland paddles go easy on the 'sturdy' subsystem (muscles) and hard on the
: vulnerable ones.
: If large-blade paddle feels too hard to pull through the water, there is
: simple solution: Apply less force.
: You will be easier on your body yet still efficiently move the boat, not stir
: the water.

: So why there are armies of die-hard greenland paddle users and proponents?
: Well, greenland paddle has it's (albeit narrow) niche: when the wind really
: blows hard, or there are no materials to make larger blade,
: greenland paddle will do.

: Still, the large blade "euro" (why it is called this) paddle
: evolved for a good reason - most of the time and for most people it is
: superior to greenland stick.

: Ah, but it's so pleasant to believe in the "wisdom of thousands-year old
: traditions", the undiscovered but charmingly green lands of fuzzy
: logic, the thousands of inhabited planets beyond our solar system, the
: bigfoots roaming mountains on the horizon, large monsters swimming in
: Scottish lakes, Masonic lodges ruling the capital markets,
: Elders of the Zion setting fiscal policy and spooky action at a distance
: entangling elementary particles.

: In fact, to the contrary to what Ray Kurzweil writes in the "Singularity
: is Near", the un-rational and non-logical is what truly
: differentiates humans from, well.. the non-kayaking population.