it's a lisp. This is 2013, compilers can deal with +-/, I don't need to.* Modern Lisps use homoiconicity not because it is easier for the compiler, but because

it's a lisp. This is 2013, compilers can deal with +-/, I don't need to.* Modern Lisps use homoiconicity not because it is easier for the compiler, but because it is easier for the human. In languages with syntactic macros, (as opposed to string-interpolating macros), one manipulates the program's AST directly as a data structure. Making the code's AST regular, predictable, and explicit facilitates code transformation, which is an integral part of programming in a Lisp dialect.