Lisp refactoring puzzle

[jvt]

I might argue that it isn't quite right (or politic) to call those who
resist technological changes "idiots" so much as to observe they often
have goals which cannot wait for the ideal expressive system.  People
love python not because Python is the platonic programming language,
but because it does what they need it to do right now.  Ditto (often)
for Lisp.

It is easy to point out an example of forward thinking languages like
Mathematica, and who knows, perhaps it will be the template upon which
languages are built in the next 100 years.  But if it is, there will
be tons of other technologies which _didn't_ make it but which might
have seemed equally advanced.  Early adoption is always a risk, and
few people want to deal with it when technology exists now that solves
their problem now, however sub-optimally. That is hardly idiotic, Xah.