Functional programming forces you to think a bit like a theoretical physicist seeking to write equations for fundamental laws: the universe is modeled as intera

Functional programming forces you to think a bit like a theoretical physicist seeking to write equations for fundamental laws: the universe is modeled as interacting particles that start free, collide and interact and end up free again. No concept of historical dependence or sequential evolution. In physics these attributes emerge only as descriptive crutches in the context of poorly understood complex, macroscopic, systems undergoing various transitions. We have much less clue how to write universal equations for such systems. So FP might have a theoretical advantage as a building block of low-level software systems that are not throwaway labor (that is: only valuable in specific historical window / context). In any case the factors driving programming language popularity have changed dramatically ever since the developer universe got truly "connected". There is a winner-take-all network mechanic that basically inflates whatever initial advantage into a (difficult to explain ex-post) catholic dominance.