[Haskell-cafe] Re: Interesting new user perspective

[Andrew Coppin]

Ryan Ingram wrote:
> I would go further than that.  To Andrew's question, I say:
>
> Yes, we want to encourage "these people" to learn Haskell.  We want to
> smash all their expectations into tiny little pieces.  We want their
> brains to explode.  And after that, we want to take what is left, pick
> it up off the floor, and put it back in as something new and better!
>
> People who didn't realize just what it was that they were getting
> into, once they come around, tend to be even more vocal supporters
> among their peers.  They've finally "gotten it" and want to share that
> experience with others.
>
> We just need to communicate that learning Haskell will make you a
> better programmer, no matter what expectations you have going in.
>   

Trouble is, certain programmers expect to master everything in 20 
seconds flat ("Learn C++ in 21 days", anyone?), and if they try to learn 
an "obscure" and "irrelevant" language like Haskell and don't "get it" 
in 20 seconds flat, they'll go "bah, stupid language" and move on. I'm 
pretty sure there's no way to simplify Haskell to the point where people 
can master it in 20 seconds, so these people are pretty much a lost cause.

Thus, I would concentrate my efforts on people who are actually willing 
to make the effort required to learn. Maybe that's just me...