No one could accuse DHH of being an amateur, and it's true that static typing is an obstacle if it's not a vehicle. It took me years to "get on the other side"

No one could accuse DHH of being an amateur, and it's true that static typing is an obstacle if it's not a vehicle. It took me years to "get on the other side" of typing, and wield it productively instead of battling against it. I have heard several developers express the same way about testing, ie when one learns to test first, one no longer resents the tests (or whoever mandates them). Resentment and frustration give way gratitude and elation--but admittedly, it takes more than "five minutes". Static typing has a similar feel for me (although I am no expert): type-driven design often unfolds fantastically, easily, and beautifully. It has certainly replaced a few categories of unit test. Inability to appreciate static typing as a tool is, for most developers, a "skill issue." It certainly took me more than five years to come around to static typing, although as I explore it deeper (perhaps after another five years), I'll undoubtedly discover areas in which the emperor's showing a little skin. Again, however, no one could accuse DHH of a skill issue. Perhaps he is looking out for the little guy? Perhaps he's simply invested in an alternate idiom. Perhaps he really is a whole five years of static typing grief ahead of us. I think that's certifiable.