As someone who was immersed in C++ from the original Stroustrup book (I do not recommend it), then transitioned to Java, then (largely) to Python I disagree on the language comparison.

- Java is not worse than C++, it's actually better for most large-scale programming

- A (subset) of C++ is still far better for performance-intensive applications (games, low-level systems software, avionics, etc.).

- Related to previous, if you're using ALL of C++ in your projects you're "doing it wrong". It is not a well-designed language.

- I agree that Javascript is a win for "worse is better". Anyone remember Netscape Livewire? I try to avoid that language like the plague, but its runtime support is ubiquitous so it gets the most performance-tuning love.

- Python was, initially, just a better Perl, but its dominance in Scientific computing spilled over into data science. Also, Jupyter notebooks provide a unique value proposition for a FOSS-Mathematica.