Now I love Scheme but I would argue the exact opposite for the same reasons you listed. Scheme (Lisp, actually) is so simple and so cohesive that it feels like

Now I love Scheme but I would argue the exact opposite for the same reasons you listed. Scheme (Lisp, actually) is so simple and so cohesive that it feels like it was given to humanity by an advanced alien race. Languages like Perl, on the other hand, feel right at home with the English language. There’s a deep history of all these different things from many different places that have been bolted on over the years. It’s incredible that we can say anything at all, let alone write amazing works in it.