The, "Why I Hate Lisp" post that's been on the top of the page all day finally prodded me to start reading PG's writings on Lisp. I have a BS in Math, so my curiosity is piqued and I want to start learning functional programming.
Currently I develop in C#, Javascript, Python, PHP, and Java (ordered by proficiency).
I want to get suggestions from the HN community on which functional language (or language that supports functional-esque programming) is the best place to start with the criteria for "best" being, you can also recommend a well written book to go along with the language and that the language might allow me to leverage my current experience (unless the pure kick-ass-ness of the language outweighs any benefit I might gain by leveraging my experience. i.e. Scheme > F#).
Currently I develop in C#, Javascript, Python, PHP, and Java (ordered by proficiency).
I want to get suggestions from the HN community on which functional language (or language that supports functional-esque programming) is the best place to start with the criteria for "best" being, you can also recommend a well written book to go along with the language and that the language might allow me to leverage my current experience (unless the pure kick-ass-ness of the language outweighs any benefit I might gain by leveraging my experience. i.e. Scheme > F#).
Thanks!