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[Roy Smith]

In article <mailman.1690.1107267215.22381.python-list at python.org>,
 "Mike C. Fletcher" <mcfletch at rogers.com> wrote:

> Steve Holden wrote:
> ...
> 
> > I appreciate that not everyone has control over their .sig,
> 
> ...
> 
> Take control of your sigs, my sisters and brothers!  Viva la 
> Revolution!  Follow the Steve into the heat and light of PyCon.  You can 
> achieve enlightenment if only you go to the District on the Eastern Edge 
> of the new continents when the spring arrives.  It is only there that 
> all will be revealed.  It is only there that you shall find peace.
> 
> Joy to the Python world!
> Mike

And the smallest child asked:

Why is this language different from all other languages?.

In all other languages, we are driven to declare our variables in a static 
manner, as surely as the compiler compels us to know their types ahead of 
time, and be forced to invoke the power of the reinterpret_cast whenever we 
need to deviate from the straight path laid out for us.  Why do we not in 
this language?

In all other languages, we may indent as we please, depending on the twin 
angels of the curly-brace and the semicolon to discern the true meaning 
from the meanderings of our code across the pages of our printouts.  Why do 
we indent with tabs as rigidly as the rows of corn in our fields in this 
language?

In all other languages, we omit explicit references to self, trusting to 
context to determine the scope of our variables.  Why in this language do 
we speak our own name with overbearing monotony each time we refer to an 
instance variable?

In all other languages, we are forced to choose between object orientation 
and procedural code and bear the burden of our choice all through the long 
days of the project lifecycle.  Why in this language are we free to mix 
paradigms, even to the point of using functional programming constructs 
only whenever they seem cool and useful without fear of retribution from 
the methodology police?

Then the smallest child was silent, and the old man began to speak.