I don't know functional programming but I agree with your sentiment. I even think this is the reason why languages like C++ and Java are abused so much. Over th

I don't know functional programming but I agree with your sentiment. I even think this is the reason why languages like C++ and Java are abused so much. Over the years of use, people start learning little tricks and hacks, and they want to deploy those. They find them elegant, while everyone else who has to read them...actually thinks they are horribly overcomplicated. C++ template programming is awful, but some people love it because they love how elegant their code can become. They love that they can immerse themselves in the language features. Unfortunately this provides a net detriment to the code you are writing. No matter how good your code is, someone will have to read it again, even if it's just you. Code should be simple. I believe code should be difficult to write bad. In the common languages though it's very easy to write undecipherable code. In Javascript for example, it's hard to write code that needs more than a few moments to understand. It's even hard to write "class" hierarchies!