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The programmers who live in Flatland

(blog.redplanetlabs.com)
107 points winkywooster | 1 comments | 27 Nov 25 15:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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chromaton ◴[07 Dec 25 17:12 UTC] No.46183237[source]▶
Lisp has been around for 65 years (not 50 as in the author believes), and is one of the very first high-level programming languages. If it was as great as its advocates say, surely it would have taken over the world by now. But it hasn't, and advocates like PG and this article author don't understand why or take any lessons from that.
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1. didibus ◴[07 Dec 25 21:07 UTC] No.46185158[source]▶
I take Lisp more like artisanal work. It actually requires more skill and attention to use, but in good hands it can let someone really deliver a lot quickly.

That said, like in anything else, this kind of craftsmanship doesn't translate to monetization and scale the markets demands. What markets want is to lower barrier for entry, templatize, cheapen things, and so on.

It's normal then that languages optimized for the lowest common denominator, with less expressive power and more hand holding have won in popularity in enterprise and such, where making money is the goal, but that Lisp remains a strong and popular language for the enthousiasts looking to level up their craft or just geek out.