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> It's very unfortunate that modern programmer culture has taken so long in America to catch up with what Academia has been arguing for years: functional progra

> It's very unfortunate that modern programmer culture has taken so long in America to catch up with what Academia has been arguing for years: functional programming matters. This kind of rhetoric is found on all programming discussion boards. What seems strange to me is what isn't expressed, especially in a place like this originally oriented toward real-world start-ups. Someone who believed this and had an entrepreneurial spirit wouldn't think it was "unfortunate". They would be positively salivating and would think this fact was fantastic. If functional programming matters in the industry, what's stopping you from using it, and the parts that make a difference, to tackle some problems and solve them in a more effective and profitable way than your competitors? Yes, fine, nobody will hire you. Well save up some ramen money and do it yourself. What am I missing? If all of the people who use this "functional programming matters" rhetoric really and truly and passionately believe this, they would accomplish proving their belief, benefiting the programming world as a whole, and making some fantastic profit in the process. Why don't I see more of this attitude (or barely any of it at all) from functional enthusiasts? What am I missing here?

starkfist 16y ago
What are you talking about? Most of the startups discussed on this forum and/or funded by YC are using some subset of functional programming.
- WilliamLP 16y ago
  We're all (almost) using some subset of functional programming. (Even working in something like PHP.) We're also almost all not using Lisp, Haskell or even Scala. Lisp had brilliant ideas that became mainstream and widespread; that is not contestable.
  - starkfist 16y ago
    so what's the problem?
  - KirinDave 16y ago
    There are still many more brilliant and powerful ideas from Common Lisp that have not been adopted, despite being demonstrably superior. Hopefully everyone else can catch up so your pronouncement of Lisp's death can be made true. Want an example? Condition handlers and restarts; no one else does this as well as Common Lisp did in the early 90's.
KirinDave 16y ago
Yes, well I'm an engineer first and an entrepreneur second. I would love to see the whole world use great technology so everything works better and is easier to extend. Forgive me for not thinking of my golden parachute first. P.S., As a Clojure programmer I am actually in demand. I've had the luxury of turning down job offers. I also made a lot of money working on Erlang, and I could still get a job doing that. There is no shortage of these jobs.

starkfist 16y ago

What are you talking about? Most of the startups discussed on this forum and/or funded by YC are using some subset of functional programming.

WilliamLP 16y ago
We're all (almost) using some subset of functional programming. (Even working in something like PHP.) We're also almost all not using Lisp, Haskell or even Scala. Lisp had brilliant ideas that became mainstream and widespread; that is not contestable.
- starkfist 16y ago
  so what's the problem?
- KirinDave 16y ago
  There are still many more brilliant and powerful ideas from Common Lisp that have not been adopted, despite being demonstrably superior. Hopefully everyone else can catch up so your pronouncement of Lisp's death can be made true. Want an example? Condition handlers and restarts; no one else does this as well as Common Lisp did in the early 90's.

KirinDave 16y ago

Yes, well I'm an engineer first and an entrepreneur second. I would love to see the whole world use great technology so everything works better and is easier to extend. Forgive me for not thinking of my golden parachute first. P.S., As a Clojure programmer I am actually in demand. I've had the luxury of turning down job offers. I also made a lot of money working on Erlang, and I could still get a job doing that. There is no shortage of these jobs.