Abstract
Scientific progress takes place at different velocities, the most spectacular being inspired flashes of insight or unexpected new discoveries. Next, is the creation of new conceptual structures and the exploration of their consequences. Lastly is the patient and systematic accumulation of new information. Mendoza's discovery of infrared excesses in T Tauri stars clearly belongs in the first category because of its surprise and because of its subsequent ramifications. Such spectacular discoveries cannot be planned or anticipated, so this paper deals with observational issues of the second kind: matters in the area of star formation (as we believe we understand it) that need straightening out, complications that remain unresolved, some questions that need more attention. These are: (1) star formation in very dense clusters, (2) young stars far from any obvious birthplace, (3) the increasingly obvious fact that not all stars are born equal, (4) how to fit stars like Pic into the conventional picture of early stellar evolution, (5) the optical detection of very young, very massive stars, and (6) `flash' and `flare' stars: is there a distinction?
