The meaning of second place
Gary is very proud of his second place medal and says we need a wall to display all the awards he is going to get, including this one.
He doesn't want us to think he is TOO proud of his medal though. He said, "You know what second place is? It is the first person who loses! Second place is just 'first loser.'"
Brian looked at him a bit confused, "No, all the losers lose at the same time."
Gary gave a foot race analogy, the winner crosses the finish line and the person who comes in second is the first person to lose.
"No" said Brian, "when the winner crosses the finish line everyone has loses RIGHT THEN. They all lose at the same time."
I'm not sure how that one ended up. They debated for a while.
I am going to give Brian my vote on this one. The minute someone has won everyone else has lost.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree with Brian.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Gary's side! Yes, everyone becomes a loser when the first person wins. But person who gets second place overall is the first among that group of losers to cross the finish line. Aka the "first loser."
ReplyDeleteNow how do I follow that one? Wow! Ha ha ha I'm still trying to find the hidden message in Yondalla's post about 2nd place.
ReplyDeleteI think the first to lose vs everyone loses at once sounds very much like half full vs half empty. I mean if 100 people run a race, first place wins over 99 people but 2nd place still gets to look at the 98 behind and go "I'm still better than you" Or maybe it's just me.
I come down on Gary's side on this one, only because I'm a general supporter of positive thinking, and I think Gary's viewpoint shows an optimism of outlook that I admire.
ReplyDeleteAnd to follow up on Bacchus's comment, I'm reminded of a T-shirt I saw once: "The optimist says the glass is half full, the pessimist says the glass is half-empty, and Homer Simpson says 'ooohhh, beer!'"