A rather critical typo:
> > ...I'd really like to curry it, so that I can pass around
> > lpnorm(2) as a norm, without the receiver having a clue about the p
> > parameter
>
> Maxima has dynamic binding, like almost all of its contemporary Lisp
> systems. So you can expect functional values to do what you
^^^ CANNOT !!!
> want. You can, however, simulate static binding by a careful use of
> SUBSTITUTE.