I view Linux as something that's not Microsoft - a backlash against Microsoft, no more and no less.
We have persistent objects, they're called files.
Just think, IBM and DEC in the same room, and we did it.
The average gardener probably knows little about what is going on in his or her garden.
There's a lot of power in executing data - generating data and executing data.
No amount of source-level verification or scrutiny will protect you from using untrusted code.