It's a good question, and one that comes to mind every now and then. I guess it depends on the attitude of the learner- to be more precise, on their ambition,

It's a good question, and one that comes to mind every now and then. I guess it depends on the attitude of the learner- to be more precise, on their ambition, curiosity, and patience. If someone just wants to see results ASAP, if they see programming as some annoyance to get out of the way in order to get stuff done, give them Python (as a bonus, it may change their minds and get them in love with programming). For those with more curiosity, who want to get a deep understanding of things in general, or for those with a deeper interest in programming in particular, I would try Scheme first. This is not to say that Python and Scheme are opposite extremes in terms of practicality and ability to enlighten. Both languages are pretty good at both IMO. You can't go very wrong with either.