With the initial consideration of the meaning and attributes of quality itself out of the way we can now revisit the relationship between quantity and quality, particularly the role that each plays in our evaluation of them within any context as well as their actual performance in relation to each other. As mentioned quality can counteract quantity and the truth is that the reverse is also true.

Let us take a hypothetical example to illustrate the concept of quality versus quantity. If we roll a marble weighing 20 grams upon a flat surface from the North and roll a marble weighing 10 grams into it from the south, each at 5km/ hour then the result would be as follows:

The marbles impact and the dialectic forces are measured up. Nature itself assesses the quality of the forces concerned. Let us say that the quality of force concerned is equal to the weight multiplied by the velocity ((20 x 5 = 100) & (10 x 5 = 50)) Respectively.

Upon impact the heavy marble slows down but the lighter marble rebounds backwards, itself losing the battle of forces.

If we were to leave out the disruptive effects of the initial impact (and presume that the marble just vanishes at the point that its velocity is neutralized) and surface and atmophere-based deceleration it would theoretically take 2 successive marbles to stop the larger marble dead in its tracks.

If velocity and weight were the only factors determining of the effective value then it would be fair to state that two marbles equal one larger marble. However this is not so and there are other values to consider, not least of which includes the energy placed in the creation process of each marble. Perhaps it costs three cents to create one larger marble and four cents to create the equivalent two smaller marbles. From the economic standpoint it would mean that, while the two options are of equal value within this context, the one larger marble is 25% the more cost-effective option and hence would be the more desireable, all other things being equal.

Four quarters or a pound? Two motorcycles or a car? Four medium-quality pictures or one high-quality picture? Two pawns and a knight or a rook? A hundred flats or a palace? The duel between quantity and quality is far from over… yet never began and shall never end… It all comes down to the contextual evaluation.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 7:57 pm and is filed under A matter of perspective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.