Spend some time on the PHP developers' mailing list and watch exactly how the language evolves. You will lose that feeling of awe and reverence pretty quickly.

Spend some time on the PHP developers' mailing list and watch exactly how the language evolves. You will lose that feeling of awe and reverence pretty quickly. And every language is designed. This one happens to be designed by committee, with all the attendant issues. Also, nobody is arguing about whether it is popular. (Although, "most popular programming language"? What planet do you live on?) We are not arguing whether it can be useful. We are discussing whether it's a good language. Try to follow along.