title: Avoid object aliasing in python?
body: <p>I am trying to write a function to check whether a list is sorted (returning <code>True</code> or <code>False</code>).  How can I avoid multiple variables pointing to the same thing?</p>
  
  <pre><code>def is_sorted(t):
      a = t
      a.sort()
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>When I do that, it sorts both <code>a</code> and <code>t</code>.  How can I avoid this?</p>