When I studied social antropology a couple of years ago I never thought that it would influence my future programming endeavours. At that time we looked at theories on how things in our surroundings influence thought processes. One theory is called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It states:
“…there is a systematic relationship between the grammatical categories of the language a person speaks and how that person both understands the world and behaves in it.”
Recently I have found more information on how other people feel programming languages influence how they think (e.g. Paul Graham, Charlie Savage). Maybe this can put an end to the Ruby vs Python debate? Some people will feel that Ruby relates more to their thought process than Python does. And some will feel that Python is superior.
If you like me believe that programming languages influence your thought process the advice in The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master is very relevant:
“Learn at least one new [programming] language every year. Different languages solve the same problems in different ways. By learning several different approaches, you can help broaden your thinking and avoid getting stuck in a rut.”
So, what is your next language?