Sure, we should examine the features of languages past, keep the good things, and leave out the bad things.

I thought that Julia was aiming for Python's niche, i.e. good at numerical stuff, but also decent at inter-operating with other languages.

Argh. We were so close to leaving 1-based indexing behind as a historical relic. But now it seems we'll be stuck with it for a while longer. I'm not saying we can do anything about it now. I just want someone to validate my frustration :-)