I've long stayed away from Lisps, precisely because of what the author describes in the first section, that there is a huge amount of praise over all of it's wonders, without ever specifying what those wonders are or how they are actually good things. I've had similar issues with the cargo-cult following of Rust; yes I have heard it is great, but WHY!? Great article, it de-mystifies these vague praises and addresses them clearly and specifically. I'm gonna try Racket this afternoon =D