The problem with being consistent is that there are lots of ways to be consistent, and they're all inconsistent with each other.

Laziness is a programmers main virtue.

Orthogonality for orthogonality's sake is not something I'm keen on.

Let us be charitable, and call it a misleading feature.

When in doubt, parenthesize. At the very least it will let some poor schmuck bounce on the % key in vi.

I'm a great believer in visual distinctions.

To ordinary folks, conversion is not always automatic. It's something that may or may not require explicit assistance. See Billy Graham.