This is perhaps a great example of why "speed" is a poorly descriptive term for software. In automobiles, we wouldn't call a large truck "fast" even though it

This is perhaps a great example of why "speed" is a poorly descriptive term for software. In automobiles, we wouldn't call a large truck "fast" even though it has a much larger (and more "performant") engine than a small car. That small car is likely "much faster" than the truck, and yet cannot do most of the things the truck does. Sure, python is popular and important, but I don't think that popularity and "speed" are necessarily all that connected at all, except in use-cases where speed is the most important factor (say, financial transactions). When overnight rendering 3d graphics, speed is important but final product and ease of use are probably more important, since you can compensate for speed with a larger render farm. But more bank server aren't necessarily going to reduce transaction latency (in fact could increase it) so the gains there must often be at a much lower level.