I like the puzzle analogy but I'm not sure it holds too much weight. Didn't imperative style also kind of feel like a puzzle when you first started learning ho

I like the puzzle analogy but I'm not sure it holds too much weight. Didn't imperative style also kind of feel like a puzzle when you first started learning how to code? Remember those light bulbs that went off when you finally incremented an index variable at the right moment, or when you finally figured out the right condition for a while loop? Clearly all styles are puzzle-like when you are first learning them. I think functional programming has more or less the same learning curve as other styles. In my view, the reason functional programming isn't more popular is because of Comp Sci curricula. There are plenty of institutions where there may be one course on functional programming (if you're lucky). Then, many students seem to (incorrectly) internalize the idea that anything their degree doesn't cover extensively must be of lesser importance.