This is an interesting take, although I'm not sure the legacy -> modern evolution is perhaps quite as significant as you make it out to be. Smart pointers and b

This is an interesting take, although I'm not sure the legacy -> modern evolution is perhaps quite as significant as you make it out to be. Smart pointers and better std library constructs are absolutely welcome, metaprogramming is nice, but perhaps out of reach for many programmers (so not the "fun" or "successful" part of the language)... If you were to compare the transformation with another major systems language, or a popular dynamic language, it doesn't feel like the evolution is quite as dramatic as is made out to be? Rather, the staying power comes from elsewhere, and the language continues to modernize, perhaps at a slower pace than other contemporary languages experiencing similar staying power(s)...