Learn Python the Hard Way: A Deceptively Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Data Science, 5th Edition

Exercise 60

Advice from an Even Older Programmer

Imagine it’s 1820 and you want a nice portrait of your mother. You hear that paintings in pastel are all the rage and can be done quickly while still looking beautiful, especially in the candlelight you use to light your home at night. You contact an artist, and they come to your home, do some initial sketches of your mother, and then schedule return visits to complete the painting. Since the artist uses pastel, they can finish a very nice portrait in a record 6 hours of sitting, and make your mother look younger too. It also costs you only a week’s salary, which is a bargain compared to an oil painting. Those are very expensive and can take months.

Decades pass, and your children want to have ...