Shell is general purpose (perhaps even more so than Java or Python), when you look at it from the perspective that programs are simply functions you call and get a result from, or which perform additional computation.
perl does give you a lot of that, since if has a vaguely lisp-ish facility for modifying language syntax, and is in general very flexible, so it supports things like inheritance, deferred evaluation, etc..
Eisenstadt went on a bit of extended speculation there.
Having parents tends to create a secure environment that leads to middling experience. Losing that doesn't make you work harder, it just takes away a "normal" life and leads you to find your way elsewhere -- either up or down (as SatvikVeri correctly observes.)
Yeah exactly. I always set my theme to the most minimal, "classic", non-effects, whatever options I can turn off. That way this kind of stuff really stands out.
That's a photon.