Desaturated Color vs. Black and White

You often hear that desaturation has its effect because of its closeness to black and white. I think they're quite different. Low color photography seems to neutralize the objects more than black and white.





Perhaps when taking black and white pictures, because there is a greater possibility that objects will actually appear indistinct from each other, you work towards the other direction:



They can both create an interesting mood. Which works better: low color or black and white?