Trevor Boicey wrote:
>
> "Kerr, Paul FOR:EX" wrote:
> > Its grossly unfair to expect that a 69
> > MGB be as reliable and trouble free as a 1993 Toyota Camry.
> >
> > Its not fair to compare apples with oranges.
>
> It certainly is fair, on many levels.
>
> It's not fair to say "Japanese engineers are better than
> British engineers because this 1993 car is more reliable
> than this 1969 car". That would be unfair.
>
> However, when you are comparing which car you want
> for yourself or your child, it's absolutely fair to
> compare them as equals. Maybe the REASON that the 1993
> car is more reliable is because it's newer, but it's
> still more reliable.
>
> By the same token, it's "unfair" to buy a car instead
> of a bicycle just because it's faster. You can't say
> "A bicycle was only designed to go slow so it's not
> fair to choose a car instead that was designed to go
> fast".
>
> To extend the expression, you can't compare apples
> to oranges to decide which is a better example of
> the fruit.
>
> ...but you CAN compare apples and oranges to decide
> which you want for a snack. One just might suit you
> better, the same as a car might suit because it is
> a lot more reliable, however it got that way.
>
> --
> Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
> Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
> ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
Making a choice is one thing, a comparison is something else. I'm with
Paul Kerr on this one.
PaulH.
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