Alright, here's a simple algebra for Perl. Use the word 'heuristics' to be more accurate. Say 'secret chant of the Perl cabal' if you want to invoke raw chaos. There is no cabal:

1. Larry is always right.
2. If Larry changes his mind, see #1.
3. Breaking backwards compatibility to add a feature is ungood.
4. The pumpking is always right, unless superceded by rules #1, #2, and probably #3.
5. The module owner is always right, unless superceded by rules #1, #2, #4, and probably #3.

Those aren't very good rules. Good thing there's no cabal.