I would have expected the compiler / type checker to barf at the example code. Then again, I am not a Java person. However, I do dislike relying on automatic t

I would have expected the compiler / type checker to barf at the example code. Then again, I am not a Java person. However, I do dislike relying on automatic type coercion anyway, because my intuition is not good at predicting what will happen, and I am too lazy to learn all the rules. ;-)