Originally Posted by cwhard
Now that's the Viewpoint I want to take with my late model, close tolerance, fuel-injected engine. Second best is good enough for me! But hea man it's cheaper right? I'll just change it twice as much since it's half as good. Makes perfect (non)sense to me...
Second best in a relative competition. What you have here is a very close second in a field of top performers. Quantitatively, exactly HOW MUCH better is the 'best', in this situation, compared to the 'second best'?
It really depends on how wide the field is, and who is being compared. For example...
Look at this site:
Top NFL rushing yards
Your top two are Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton, with Smith having a higher number of yards than Payton. Was he a BETTER rusher? Well, he did have MORE yards (18,355 vs 16,726), which is definitely an accomplishment, BUT he also did it over a longer career (14 years vs. 12 years) AND his average yards per carry is lower (4.2 vs 4.4)
My point? Just because Payton came up in 2nd place for total rushing yards doesn't mean he's just '2nd best' - I may be biased, but I grew up in Chicago and still consider Payton the best running back ever.
...but that's arguable, given all the different statistics, etc..
... and in a similar fashion, stating that Pennzoil is merely 'second best' is an arguable position... based of which statistic, specifically?
Finally, let's reconsider the 'best' vs. 'second best' argument. What if the comparison above was Emmitt Smith vs. .. say... Alonzo Highsmith, who ran a total of 1,195 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. In this scenario, there's still a 'best' and a 'second best' and they are both definitely better running backs than you or me, but 2nd best is far, FAR worse than the 2nd best in the previous comparison.
.. or maybe a comparison between Emmitt Smith and me as running backs.. Hey, I played football briefly in high school. He's still the best.. but my 'second best' is paltry..
.......................
If you had to say, which of the above three best/second best scenarios compares to Amsoil/Pennzoil? Be honest.