Jimi - I can imagine most of my former schoolmasters raising a quizzical eyebrow or emitting a barely-concealed snigger at the idea of the word 'scholar' being used of me - but I'll accept the compliment anyway! As for 'gentleman' - well, it takes one to know one - and this forum in general seems very well populated with them - one of it's great strengths, I feel.
Rob - I take your point about a starter kit, but stand (roughly) by my number of about 100, especially for the amateur in the garage or shed. You can't do much woodwork without needing a cramp or several, for example, and it doesn't take long before you run into the need for a gouge or two, a high-angle smoother, a bowsaw, a couple of rasps...or many another not-often-used-but-invaluable item. Being able to sharpen your own saws is a very valuable skill, but adds another six or seven tools to the list.
So - for the ordinary chap with bills to pay and a family to feed, stretching the budget is essential if he's to equip his shed with enough to enjoy woodworking to a bit better than just DIY standards. Even then, it takes most of us several years to reach the happy point of normally having a tool for the job without resorting to compromises or dodgy wangles.
On the subject of steels, it would indeed be surprising, given the technical advances of the last century or so, if we hadn't developed better ones. Indeed in some ways, it's a surprise it took so long for the woodworking world to go looking for better steels. I think I'll leave the assessments to those better qualified than I - all my edge tools are either the old cast steel, or the (slightly) more modern O1 types (except my Robert Sorby paring chisels, which I gather are made of a grade of spring steel). They all work well enough for me, but I'm not pushing the boundaries of woodworking, and having no experience of A2 or the other modern introductions, I'm in no position to comment anyway.
Oh - just in passing - one of my most useful tools is a very cheap screwdriver from the Halfords bargain bin. It had a damaged tip when I bought it (for 25p) about 25 years ago, and I never reshaped it. I just use it for all the 'abuse' jobs that screwdrivers usually get - like opening paint cans, poking crud out of corners, throwing at unwanted visitors to the workshop - that sort of thing - thus saving my proper screwdrivers for their intended function.