When i use either a granny or a square, i find myself needing to repeatedly retie my shoes. I figured that is noteworthy.
Many times, i see other people tie their shoes with a granny knot. It doesn't seem to naturally lay right. However, the ugly truth, a good third of the people i see wearing shoes with laces have the laces tucked into the sides of their shoes, probably with no idea how to tie them. I also often see people who leave their shoes prepetually tied, for fear that should they untie they will never remember how to tie them. The problem, i think, is in the methods we teach children to tie shoes, and the amount of practce sustained. Many shoes no longer require laces, and so people have no need to practice, and loose their skill. Another frequent problem is that they learn to tie the knot by tying first a half knot, then another half knot between bights of the rope. Coupled with the teachers having no idea the differences between the square and granny knots, this method often leads people to tie all half knots one way, as it feels most comfortable. The best method to teach is probably the ian knot (see the site above) as it immediately becomes very awkward not to dress the knot correctly, and also it is by far the fastest, simplest, and most direct way to tie it, if a bit more teaching may be required. Unfortunately, not enough people have enough regard for their shoelaces to bother learning this.
