The Parable of the Maple Syrup
The maple syrup I put on my pancakes for breakfast says it's "Grade A Very Dark Color, strong taste". Also on the label is a sticker that says "Previously Grade B". In maple syrup scores, just like at school, Grade A is a higher score than Grade B is is a better quality syrup. This label got me thinking. Did they change the syrup, and the company now sells a higher quality, or did they change the scale, and the same syrup is now given a higher score? Is something that was previously thought to be so-so now thought to be good? That sounds a lot like relaxing standards. Often we have a standard (not watching PG-13 movies, for example), and we hold to it, until we come across a "special circumstance". "This movie isn't that bad, it shouldn't really be rated PG-13" "It's a film adaptation of my favorite book, and the book doesn't have bad things in it, so the movie will be OK too" "The movie rating syst...