I can see the advantages of using the Arel predicates, but to me this: User.order("id desc") reads better than: User.order(User.arel_table[User.prima

I can see the advantages of using the Arel predicates, but to me this: User.order("id desc") reads better than: User.order(User.arel_table[User.primary_key].desc) The latter seems a lot less expressive. Also, Pat's book is great if you're curious about Ruby internals: http://patshaughnessy.net/ruby-under-a-microscope http://patshaughnessy.net/ruby-under-a-microscope