it's a serious question: why does the builtin pow function exist?
for two argument pow we've got **. there's no add() for + or mul()
for *....
and three argument pow-with-modulo seems like specilaist usage that
belongs in the standard lib, not in the core. I know about crypto and
number theory uses. are there others?
it's obviously useful for something or else it would be slated for
removal in python 3000, surely?
Richard
