Yes, you can.This simply leads to voodoo programming where retains and releases are sprinkled throughout your code as a substitute for understanding. In addition to deferring absorbtion of the Basic Rules, it's almost certainly going to lead to a problem at some stage when you retain and release rather than using accessor methods (see <http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/MemoryMgmt/Articles/mmPractical.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40004447-SW4 >).
Indeed, many would find their lives a great deal easier if they went through accessor methods, but they don't. It's the same issue that arises when developers post questions who's answers would be self- evident if they were adhering to MVC but are fairly complicated given the lack of clarity in the code's design. The takeaway from that should be to use properties but people are stubborn (though I would maintain that overkill retaining/releasing, so long as they are balanced, is very unlikely to lead to problems - just ugly, dirty, semi-retarded code that you can look back on and cringe at in a few years).
-rob.
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