Lisp seems to get outsized attention on HN. If Lisp is so good, why isn’t its use more widespread?
*Maybe it’s disproportionate attention on HN is just a pg remnant?
And of course because of those various reasons the Lisp community is rather small so it creates the vicious cycle of 'the community is too small and there are no libraries so I won't use it' into 'there are too few people using it so there's a small community and less manpower to make various libraries'.
There are over 39 thousand McDonald's restaurants worldwide, yet there's no general consensus on whether that's really good food. Opinions on McDonald's food vary. Some people enjoy it for its taste, convenience, and affordability, while others criticize it for its nutritional value and health impact.
Popular doesn't necessarily mean good, and vice-versa.
Consider classical music as another example. It's praised for its intricacy, artistry, and emotional richness, yet it lacks the widespread popularity of genres like pop or rock. I'm not a musician, but I believe any aspiring artist would gain immensely from studying classical music. Similarly, any programmer would find significant value in learning Lisp. The concept of Lisp is genuinely captivating (don't confuse it with Common Lisp, I'm talking about the general idea of Lisp, not a concrete implementation). Good ideas have enduring relevance. Much like classical music, which, though never mainstream, perpetually retains its allure, Lisp remains perpetually attractive, even if it never reclaims mainstream status.
Not saying it is widespread, of course.
> If Lisp is so good, why isn’t its use more widespread?
What does "good" and "widespread" have to do with each other? Mildly orthogonal concerns. As a tech junkie, one experience that has been consistent all my life is "the best stuff is almost never widespread". When I was in to digital cameras, the "best" camera was rarely the widespread one - both pre-DSLR and after. The best file management utility is not the widespread one. The best radio is not the widespread one. The best TV is not the widespread one. The best SW for a task is often not the most widespread one.
I know I'm not answering the question. Instead, I want you to ponder the faulty premise in your question. Instead of tying your question to "widespread", why not simply ask why people like Common Lisp so much?
It's like asking "If that job is so awesome, why doesn't it pay well?"
HN is not a knowledge base or docs. It’s a forum. Perhaps you should go and read the HN guidelines?
> On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting.
The Lisp Curse: http://winestockwebdesign.com/Essays/Lisp_Curse.html
It's an essay, not an academic paper. The entire "Lisp Curse" essay can basically be counteracted with Big Lebowski's "Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."