This was known at the dawn of python and before, though. For example lisps in various flavors were doing this high-and-low very well decades earlier; arguably n

This was known at the dawn of python and before, though. For example lisps in various flavors were doing this high-and-low very well decades earlier; arguably nothing has done it radically better since. So it's worth asking why that never took over the world as a counter to why python exploded. It's tempting as a technology person to wish a "better python" had been the one to gain that sort of market impact. However, we have to at least ask the question if some of its technical flaws actually contributed to its success....