I grew up, or at least grew older, on a farm in the Acadian country of Louisiana. Farm boys spend their idle time speaking of many things. In fact, the teacher could generally be cajoled into sharing his or her wisdom on the merits of the neighborhood's new mechanical mule. I recall the excitement, when on a bus ride home, I noticed that my neighbor a few houses removed had purchased a new Farmall tractor.
Farm boys notice that sort of thing.
And I marveled at its beauty. At home, I hurriedly leaped from the bus and plowed into the house to share this breaking news with my father. He listened as I described and assigned wonderful attributes to our neighbor's new prize. In response to my stunned stare, he explained that where tractors are concerned its not the paint's sparkle or lug pattern that matters but whether, when the tools are sunk deep into the dank Louisiana clay, can it pull under load because that is what tractors are meant to do. My father's insight and wisdom on what matters when assessing a situation has guided me through many years.