(test) ? a:b

[Rustom Mody]

On Sunday, October 26, 2014 9:45:22 AM UTC+5:30, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> http://legacy.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0285/
<snipped>
> Ben Finney wrote:
> 
> 
> > I agree with the decision, because this isn't an issue which often leads
> > to *incorrect* code. But I maintain that it's an unfortunate and
> > needlessly confusing wart of the language.
> 
> That puts you in the small but vocal minority :-)

I'm sure that as the author of stats module you know of 'sampling error'!

Hint: There are two rather different populations to consider here for drawing the sample

- pythonistas
- textbook-istas

Analogous to another oft-seen argument -- variables.

A python variable is time-varying (like most programming languages)
A python variable is not a mathematical variable.

Historically: 1st HLL was FORTRAN which first introduced variables
in trying to come closer to math (note the name FORmula TRANslator)

Fortran's approximation was quite a good attempt for 1957.
Less and less so as people understood the consequences.
Until 1978 its creator was awarded for his creation and in his
acceptance apologized for his mistakes
-- Section 4 http://web.stanford.edu/class/cs242/readings/backus.pdf

tl;dr People make mistakes. Mistakes can be corrected


==================
Of course
1. There are the logical operators and, xor
2. Put them into a certain config -- half-adder 
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adder_%28electronics%29#Half_adder
3. [Keep reading down]. ..
   full-adder
4. Ripple-carry adder
   :
   :
5. ALU ie Arithmetic Logic Unit

IOW arithmetic/logic distinctions are fuzzy.

"Distinctions are fuzzy" ≠ "Should not be made" [In my book!]