I think it's harder to become better backwards compatibly, and that for that reason it is unlikely java will ever catch up to some of the most compelling good (

I think it's harder to become better backwards compatibly, and that for that reason it is unlikely java will ever catch up to some of the most compelling good (in my opinion) decisions Kotlin made. But your point is a good one and you may have convinced me that my guess is wrong about Kotlin for this reason.