[much stuff deleted that I mostly agree with to get at an interesting chunk of disagreement]
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Steven D'Aprano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >By contrast, today's professional bodies like law, medicine etc. have >independent standards of skill that must be met. I don't wish to deny >that knowing the right people can help smooth the procedure of becoming >a doctor, lawyer, etc., but failing to have an uncle who is a lawyer is no >barrier to becoming a lawyer, provided you can pass the bar exam. That is >very different from the guild system. Unfortunately, this isn't quite true. Medicine and law both require the passing of an apprenticeship, so there's still some room for favoritism and blackballing. -- Aahz ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) <*> http://www.pythoncraft.com/ "Given that C++ has pointers and typecasts, it's really hard to have a serious conversation about type safety with a C++ programmer and keep a straight face. It's kind of like having a guy who juggles chainsaws wearing body armor arguing with a guy who juggles rubber chickens wearing a T-shirt about who's in more danger." --Roy Smith -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
