Also keep in mind that as far as performance of dynamic languages goes, all of the P* languages (Perl, Python, PHP, and... Ruby ;)) have been left in the dust by the front-runners (eg Node.js or LuaJIT). Perl used to be king a long time ago, eventually, PHP took pole position, and maybe now it's Ruby's time to shine. But being leader of that particular pack could mean you're nevertheless still 'slow' depending on context.

No, both your post and this reply are dogmatic. As I said, Ruby is the slowest modern dynamic programming language (and it's much slower than Perl). I really wish the Ruby community would listen to valid criticism. All dynamic languages are deeply flawed in some way, especially Ruby, and most ecosystems are open to learning from others.