[Numpy-discussion] Detect subclass of ndarray

[Alan G Isaac]

On Sat, 24 Mar 2007, Anne Archibald apparently wrote: 
> Note that taking a vector and left-multiplying it by 
> a matrix is a very natural operation that won't work any 
> more if you treat all vectors as if they were row vectors. 

Can you be more specific on this "naturalness"?
What is the cost of being explicit (in actual practice)?

I am inclined to claim that this seems "natural" to us only 
when we abuse language and forget that our column vectors 
and row vectors are in fact matrices with two dimensions/axes.

In what situation does a need or major convenience
from being so implicit arise?

Thank you,
Alan Isaac