Python indentation deters newbies?

[Peter Hansen]

simo wrote:

> I'm a Perl programmer at heart - well that and PHP, plus the odd
> dabbling in C/C++/C# etc.
> 
> Anyway, the thought of indentation instead of curly braces really put
> me off to start with, 

Ah, good.  Someone who was really there, instead of hearsay.

Please, *why* did it put you off?

Didn't you already indent your code consistently?

Didn't you think that the removal of those braces would immediately
make the code more readable (fewer lines, fewer extra cruft to
distract the eye) and easier to type?

I'm curious why more people don't have "neat!" as their very
first thought on encountering this, rather than "yuck!".

-Peter