I was mostly referring to the enthusiasm that tends to spring up around technology that isn't really all that good. The merits of the underlying technology isn

I was mostly referring to the enthusiasm that tends to spring up around technology that isn't really all that good. The merits of the underlying technology isn't important for adoption -- the momentum of the community is. Programming languages don't win on merit. They win on ease of entry and community. Hence so many programming languages (and/or implementations of them) that, in sober retrospect, are horseshit. I've even seen that the community around a language or a technology doesn't have to be a positive one. Even negative communities can create momentum. Which is puzzling to me, but probably not to a political scientist who would actually know something about the behaviors of multitudes. As for keeping your cool and seeing what sticks: nobody has ever regretted being on the fence for a few years before committing a big chunk of your professional life to a technology. The only thing that really happens is that stuff is even better by the time you make your bet. You don't really lose out on anything by waiting. (That being said: like anyone else, I've charged in early and started using technologies prematurely. And regretted it)