Why is Python popular, while Lisp and Scheme aren't?

[David Garamond]

Jacek Generowicz wrote:
> Recently, I wrote a number-crunching program in Lisp. A typical
> function in which look something like this:
> 
> (defun Hpp (x s z)
>   #i(sqrt(Vpp(x s z)-gamma)/(x^2+s^4) -
>      exp(sin(Tpp(x s))/(2*b1(x s)))))
> 
> (Incidentally, Lisp's _syntax_ made it possible for me to write a
> macro which automatically re-structures my numerical functions in a
> way which makes the program run 17 times faster.)

yes, that's good and all. the only problem is, most people _don't 
like_it. they are _allergic_ to ((())). so what gives? the things that 
will make them like:

  (+ 1 1)

over (or the same as):

  1+1

are probably only brain surgery and heavy brainwashing.

> Lisp is a slow, interpreted, purely-functional language, in which the
> only datatype is the list, it needs specialst hardware to run on, is
> solely responsible for the failure of AI, and died over a decade
> ago. Right?
> 
> (Just in case anyone doesn't get it, _everything_ in the previous
> paragraph is a lie.)

i do believe many people (though "many" here is not to be meant as 
anywhere "near mainstream") know that lisp is powerful and has 
interesting concepts (for me it's the "program-as-a-list", which is 
truly spectacular). so i'm not bashing lisp here, my only point is and 
has been that people don't like the syntax. syntax matters, so all the 
other things that lisp has can't attract them to embrace and stay with 
lisp. and that's a shame, but that's the way it is.

-- 
dave