And lo On Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:03:29 +0100, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake thusly:

> Holy Wars. Computer nerds seem to be having them all the time.
>
> Basically what most of these arguments boil down to is "my favourite  
> tool for X is the best - and you should all agree with me".
>
> Now, think about that for a moment. "My favourite"??
>
> Tell me, how many Holy Wars have you seen fought over whether strawberry  
> icecream is better or worse than chocolate icecream? Uh, none. Nobody  
> *cares* what you think is the best icecream, because everybody realises  
> that IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's just a personal preference that doesn't  
> make any difference to anything.
>
> Then again, icecream isn't a tool. So how about real tools?
>
> Well, I don't know any mechanics *personally*. But I've yet to see a  
> bunch of them get into an irate shouting match about whether an  
> adjustable spanner is better or worse than a well-made fixed spanner.  
> You can see how there would be merits to both, and how some people might  
> prefer one to the other, and they *could* spend months debating it...  
> it's just that they don't. As far as I'm aware, no mechanic actually  
> gives a **** about the difference. Given the option, they just use  
> whatever tool they prefer, and if there isn't an option, why argue about  
> it? It's just a tool.

Yet you see heated debates about whether this braking system is better  
than that braking system; or this engine configuration is better than that  
one. I think anything that can be differentiated in many ways with no  
objective measurement method will be argued about.

Before anyone chimes in that you can measure a braking system you'll get  
someone saying "Ah yes but this one is better when it's wet and you're in  
a heavier car that's traveling at over 50mph"

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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