The problem I have with people who claim that "all languages are the same" is that they aren't. You can't use that bit-shifting trick in some higher-level lang

The problem I have with people who claim that "all languages are the same" is that they aren't. You can't use that bit-shifting trick in some higher-level languages, and any lisp fan will regal you for hours with descriptions of clever solutions to problems that just can't be done in C.