Python is one of my favorite languages, but every time I use + to concatenate strings I get a kind of gross feeling. I think one reason is that python encourag

Python is one of my favorite languages, but every time I use + to concatenate strings I get a kind of gross feeling. I think one reason is that python encourages the use of duck typing, and as a result when you look at a piece of code you can't really be positive what kinds of values the variables hold. So if you're writing some code that works as long as the arguments passed in support "+", it's jarring thinking that it might run on strings, but surely won't do what you expect.