Yes? I do care about this stuff. The first reason is that I'm kind of a wonk for this stuff. I like reading about the different languages and learning them. I

Yes? I do care about this stuff. The first reason is that I'm kind of a wonk for this stuff. I like reading about the different languages and learning them. I have fun doing it; (I also program because I think it is fun, I could probably make plenty of money doing something else had i the desire...). The second reason is that I believe you should use the right tool for the right job. Firstly, by learning more paradigms I get more flexible with my programming in any language. I can pick the way to implement that will fit my solution best, rather than worrying about shoehorning the solution in my head into the wrong pattern. Secondly, I can make better choices at the start of a project. If I have a basic plan at the beginning of a project, I can decide based on the plan what will most likely make implementing it the most pain free. When your implementing language fits your problem domain perfectly, you can be incredibly productive.