At this point there are many well phrased comments saying most of what I wanted to say - unreliable airport wifi ate a long response a few hours ago - so let me

At this point there are many well phrased comments saying most of what I wanted to say - unreliable airport wifi ate a long response a few hours ago - so let me just note that A) the author is entitled to all their opinions and experiences and B) raises some good points (see Keno's comment) but C) raises some subjective (syntax, etc) and odd (measuring performance by timing a one line hello world) points. Julia is not the right hammer for all nails, but I use it every day and enjoy doing so. If you're on the fence, I encourage you to give it a try. And for what it's worth, end as a keyword aside, I really like the syntax, particularly :: type decorators. Your mileage may vary.