I think the middle growth was driven by the "second best at everything" meme. Python is not the best at most things but a close second or third usually (system

I think the middle growth was driven by the "second best at everything" meme. Python is not the best at most things but a close second or third usually (system scripting, data munging, web programming etc), meaning it is easy to get into the language for one use, then continue using it for other things. Ruby or Go feel like something that ended up specializing in web, so even if they are better suited to it than Python, Python benefits from more cross-pollination. This will be especially true for small teams, where one language has to cover all bases, and also where "areas" of programming overlap. Need a REST server to serve up MP model results? By virtue of being pretty close to best for both areas, it is actually possibly the top choice overall.