[Tutor] Python Versions

[Tiger12506]

> Despite what your english teacher might have tried to make you
> believe, they were wrong about the lack of a neutral in english. Just
> like ending sentences with prepositions has always been done and
> always will be done,  the use of "they" to refer to someone of
> indeterminate gender has been well and alive for hundreds of years.
>
> The fact you think it isn't okay is because some english teacher sold
> you a line of crap about prescriptive grammar rules that don't
> actually hold true in actual writing. Many grammar books try to make
> the language into what it is not, rather than describing it as it is.

No. I form my own opinions and do not believe individuals such as my english 
"teachers" unless I truly believe that each one is correct. Each of my 
english teachers will not tell you to use "they" or even the masculine, 
instead prefering the "proper" way to be "his/her", and equivalent forms. I 
personally believe this to be a waste of time, and efficiency is one of my 
primary motivators. Therefore, for space and time I use "he" for an unknown. 
Proper english (as it is from my viewpoint) would be to restructure the 
sentence so that it uses "one" in that instance. (My english teachers would 
gasp at this) This makes the most logical sense. For more than one person of 
unknown gender, English uses "everyone". So for one person of unknown 
gender, English uses "one". "They" does not match plurality. Using "they" as 
you describe it would mean that we should be forming sentences such as "They 
works" "They bakes" "They codes in python". Clearly this does not sound 
correct because the word "they" is meant to be used as a plural pronoun 
only. No, I do not believe in english teachers, and I believe that just 
because people have used "they" for centuries should not indicate that it is 
the correct way to speak. I feel that the only correct language is the one 
which closely follows the rules of mathematics. A few examples.

English: "In no way should I stop working".         Math: (-) * (-) = (+)
English: "This and that"                                        Math: (this) 
+ (that) = both
English: "This, but not that"                                  Math: 
(both) - (that) = this
Spanish: "Estos dos árboles verdes son bonitos"  Math: 2(a+b) = 2a+2b

That is why I like to program so much. Computer languages are very closely 
mapped to mathematical theory. No, I do not listen to my english teachers 
because they do not understand what it is to be a musician, mathematician, 
scientist, and philospher simultaneously.

> Leave the sexist, antediluvian notions of your grammar texts behind
> and write like people always have. Don't make a mistake about that
> next person, no matter what *their* gender may be.

I shall not make the same mistake, but I shall not write like people 
"always" have. If I were more capable, I would write exceptionally better.

This is a python list and this discussion has continued for enough time. I 
would much rather hear your opinions on a piece of python code rather than 
your criticism of an action for which I have already apologized.

Jacob Schmidt
PS - "Always" is such a strong word; in math it translates to the limit as 
time approaches infinity in both directions. So powerful that even the 
mathematical language has difficulties expressing it.