This discussion could be superficially projected onto the Erlang domain, and I think in some sense it shows how wrong it is. Syntax, in my opinion, is the least

This discussion could be superficially projected onto the Erlang domain, and I think in some sense it shows how wrong it is. Syntax, in my opinion, is the least interesting critique one can mount against a programming system, for the simple reason that it is generally learned the quickest (even if you could argue it takes "longer" to learn). A programmer who understands process isolation the way Erlang meant it is will be far more productive (and correct) than one who doesn't. In comparison, a "few seconds" more to type are nothing. But I see the point about the internals of a system (I assume this is the crux of Dijkstra's point) leaking into the process of teaching it, hence making it harder to form a coherent high level understanding. I continuously see the same problem with Git, which faces the same problems. It is a great system, but one that does not make it easy to form a generic overview without having to bombard the student with the lower level machinations. Edit: grammar.