I have a similar experience. I learned to program as a kid with BASIC (no editor). I learned to read code while I was young because I was too lazy to type the B

I have a similar experience. I learned to program as a kid with BASIC (no editor). I learned to read code while I was young because I was too lazy to type the BASIC games found in magazines, so it was easier to parse the game and play it in my mind. I cut my teeth on the MudOS platform, using the in-game `ed` to for rewriting backend code. I didn't use syntax highlighting for a long time. There are times when I log into a system to edit something with vim, and no syntax highlighting appears. It surprises me, but not a deal-breaker. I also thought syntax highlighting was unnecessary. The first time I saw a video of using the Twilight theme for Sublime, I was stunned by what the colors brought out. At that time, my awareness was not as developed, so I couldn't even tell you I liked it because of how I experienced the code. So I spent a lot of time finding good themes for my editors, first vim and now spacemacs. If I am going to look at code all day, I don't want my eyes to bleed. Aesthetics is the strongest argument I have for syntax highlighting, and it should not be casually dismissed without investigation.