He was wrong then and now, but the crucial speedup of Mathematica vs Maxima was difference in modeling of data and how Mathematica could piggy back on fortran l

He was wrong then and now, but the crucial speedup of Mathematica vs Maxima was difference in modeling of data and how Mathematica could piggy back on fortran libraries for numerical solving, while Maxima focused on symbolic solving. This meant that for many cases where numerical method was beneficial, Mathematica easily won on speed.