Abstract Comparative Adjectives
After watching a movie or a series, people often ask who your favorite character is. How do you answer that? I mean…what is ‘favorite’? It is abstract, a personal preference based on the perspective of a multifaceted being. Do we have clearly defined metrics for it? Nope.
Let us take the Big Bang Theory, for example. Who is your favorite character? Here is what I would say: Howard. People have gaped at me and some with disgust when I say that. But let me explain: if you are looking for the character who underwent the biggest transformation, for the better - it is Howard. And the actor beautifully carried it through. Howard went from being this obnoxious and pervert weirdo to simply a weirdo who relentlessly loves his family and exhibits emotions we never expected of the Howard from the earlier seasons. If you are asking for the character who surprised me with their zany personality - it is Amy. It is Sheldon if you like quirky predictable characters whose arguments make you roll on the floor laughing. But then again, you might not agree with any of the above. It is my perspective.
There are several such contentious words. Best! What is best? “I have a best friend”, but what does that even mean? There are some people whom you have some common interests with, and there are other people whom you have other common interests with. That’s how you make friends. How do you choose which of these are ‘best’? Another one is top (eye roll!). “He is top in his class”. At what? Age? Height? Weight? Sports? Academics? Clearly define, please!
These abstract comparative adjectives (self-coined, btw!) with no defined metrics can lead to healthy discussions or unnecessary contentions. They can easily be misinterpreted. So here is what I am going to do proactively to eliminate this infuriating confusion: I am going to always accompany my abstract comparative adjective with the answer to ‘What’ I am comparing and sometimes even add ‘Why’ I prefer that metric. I admire characters who can undergo the kind of positive transformation Howard went through. It is not easy, even for the fictional lot. I’d call X my best friend because our shared interests are more central to my personality than others. I don’t want to call anybody top in their class because our educational system where people of different strengths and qualities are put through the same assessment sucks in its own way. Ha! Ranting over. Time to give this a shot.
