  Understanding a planet's atmosphere is a necessary condition for
understanding not only the planet itself, but also its formation, structure,
evolution, and habitability, This puts a premium on obtaining spectra, and
developing credible interpretative tools with which to retrieve vital planetary
information. However, for exoplanets these twin goals are far from being
realized. In this paper, I provide a personal perspective on exoplanet theory
and remote sensing via photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy. Though not a
review in any sense, this paper highlights the limitations in our knowledge of
compositions, thermal profiles, and the effects of stellar irradiation,
focussing on, but not restricted to, transiting giant planets. I suggest that
the true function of the recent past of exoplanet atmospheric research has been
not to constrain planet properties for all time, but to train a new generation
of scientists that, by rapid trial and error, is fast establishing a solid
future foundation for a robust science of exoplanets.
