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I think nobody would term it as being "revolutionized". But like many others, I would definitely say that I improved and became a more knowledgeable programmer

I think nobody would term it as being "revolutionized". But like many others, I would definitely say that I improved and became a more knowledgeable programmer by learning languages that were different enough from what I am used to writing. Even if I ended up not using them. Also I find the article's assumption weird that people pick up new languages just because they want to do a new project they feel the language would fit better with. In my experience that applies more to frameworks/technologies, but not to languages.

PaulHoule 4y ago
There is some value in learning a new language but I think beginners overvalue it. If you know Python there isn't a lot of point in learning (say) Ruby or Javascript except for the fact that languages like that have specific advantages like there is a framework you really like in Ruby or Javascript lets you target the web browser. Learning to script the GIMP with Guile isn't too different from scripting Word with Visual Basic for Applications except for the awkward APIs and syntax. To really get something special out of LISP you need to do something with macros and metaprogramming. I find my learning centers around problems I encounter. For instance I have a hobby that centers around printing images and until I starting making anaglyph images with PIL that require color management to print properly so then I learned how to work with color management. Other projects dragged me into learning compiler techniques.