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it shows a different path than what is listed in my .bash_profile; markedly different, ergo I am exasperated when I have to do ./ for every program I run.
There's a good reason why the current directory (.) is not included in your path. *nix makes you specify the path so you know exactly what executable/script you are running. This is because, if someone leaves a file in a directory that's in your path and writes an evil program and gives it a name that duplicates a common command, this creates a security risk.