"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/
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