Programming Python, Second Edition

The “Gilligan Factor”

It has been suggested (tongue in cheek) that if there were a patron saint of software engineers, the honor would fall on none other than Gilligan, the character in the pervasively popular American television show of the 1960s, Gilligan’s Island. Gilligan is the enigmatic, sneaker-clad first mate, widely held to be responsible for the shipwreck that stranded the now-residents of the island.

To be sure, Gilligan’s situation seems oddly familiar. Stranded on a desert island with only the most meager of modern technological comforts, Gilligan and his cohorts must resort to scratching out a living using the resources naturally available. In episode after episode, we observe the Professor developing exquisitely intricate tools for doing the business of life on their remote island, only to be foiled in the implementation phase by the ever-bungling Gilligan.

But clearly it was never poor Gilligan’s fault. How could one possibly be expected to implement designs for such sophisticated applications as home appliances and telecommunications devices, given the rudimentary technologies available in such an environment? He simply lacked the proper tools. For all we know, Gilligan may have had the capacity for engineering on the grandest level. But you can’t get there with bananas and coconuts.

And pathologically, time after time, Gilligan wound up inadvertently sabotaging the best of the Professor’s plans; misusing, abusing, and eventually destroying his inventions. If he ...