Без изменения исходной функции, из Python Tricks :
def flatten(x):
"""flatten(sequence) -> list
Returns a single, flat list which contains all elements retrieved
from the sequence and all recursively contained sub-sequences
(iterables).
Examples:
>>> [1, 2, [3,4], (5,6)]
[1, 2, [3, 4], (5, 6)]
>>> flatten([[[1,2,3], (42,None)], [4,5], [6], 7, MyVector(8,9,10)])
[1, 2, 3, 42, None, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]"""
result = []
for el in x:
#if isinstance(el, (list, tuple)):
if hasattr(el, "__iter__") and not isinstance(el, basestring):
result.extend(flatten(el))
else:
result.append(el)
return result