Oleg has worked in other non-Lisp languages, notably members of the ML family. I know that you want to be all pro-Lisp and such, but it's just another family of languages, really; there's nothing magical or special about them. All compilers use an anamorphic parser, a hylomorphic reducer, a paramorphic optimizer, and a katamorphic instruction selector.
It's not about what the language provides, but about what the language doesn't require. Lisps can be low-ceremony, but they're not the only ones. Trees might be universal data structures, but they're not the only ones.
It's not about what the language provides, but about what the language doesn't require. Lisps can be low-ceremony, but they're not the only ones. Trees might be universal data structures, but they're not the only ones.