def _do_not_recurse(value):
    """Function symbol used for wrapping an unpickled object
    (which should not be recursively expanded).

    This is recognized and respected by the instantiation parser.
    Implementationally, no-op (returns the value passed in as an
    argument).

    Parameters
    ----------
    value : object
        The value to be returned.

    Returns
    -------
    value : object
        The same object passed in as an argument.

    Notes
    -----
    Taken (with minor changes) from `Pylearn2`_.

    .. _Pylearn2: \
    http://github.com/lisa-lab/pylearn2/blob/master/pylearn2/config/yaml_parse.py

    """
    return value