Change the way you think about programming for the better

Challenging ourselves is transformative. Changing the way you look at programming will introduce paradigm-shifts... even when going back to old languages and tools.

Ferris, the unofficial Rust mascot. Imagined by Midjourney.

“A language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.” — Alan Perlis

I absolutely love that quote.

For me, Java long since stopped affecting the way I think about programming. C++ even more, and I’ll throw Python in the mix too. None of these languages challenge me to think about programming in new or different ways.

Which is probably why I haven’t touched them in years. They’re stagnant, uninteresting, and just not pushing boundaries.

There are plenty of languages that get me thinking about how I program. Changing my methods, for the better — really learning interesting and new concepts, not just a new technical skill but a new view of programming.

Changing how you think

Rust is one such language. If you haven’t learned Rust, I recommend doing it — even if you’re just exploring. It will affect the way you think about programming.

I’m biased toward functional programming languages, which is probabl…