>>> There was an essay about Lisp being a "language for smart people"
Boy! Nothing can be further from the truth! At least my experience, trying to teach people to program in java, c, c++, lisp and assembly to both technical and non technical people, the only language that is easy to teach is lisp. By far the only language that everybody “got” and could actually do something on it.
Compare that to c++, where experienced programmers shoot themselves the feet every single day.
I think the essay had less to do with syntax than appreciating what makes lisp special. But sure. I love Lisp's ultra-simple syntax. And it makes macros work, which is indeed a superpower.
Boy! Nothing can be further from the truth! At least my experience, trying to teach people to program in java, c, c++, lisp and assembly to both technical and non technical people, the only language that is easy to teach is lisp. By far the only language that everybody “got” and could actually do something on it.
Compare that to c++, where experienced programmers shoot themselves the feet every single day.