If ruby core shrinks and more of the standard libraries move to gems, it will be easier to just write this sort of thing as a gem and let the best ideas win out

If ruby core shrinks and more of the standard libraries move to gems, it will be easier to just write this sort of thing as a gem and let the best ideas win out. The state_machine gem is a great example of the slow (but very solid) evolution of acts_as_state_machine into a highly useful general ruby library.