Build a stress graph of languages. Total stress (area under the curve) is important, but maximum stress at any given point is important too.

When you see repeated errors, you have to do something. Consistency helps to form common sense. Creativity is hindered by arbitrary restriction

Simplicity is NOT a goal: Things too simple are difficult and Things too complex are difficult

Principle of succinctness: Fred Brooks - people can generate the same number of lines of code per day, regardless of language

• Ruby supports mixins not multiple inheritance, hidden message: multiple inheritance is bad.
• Ruby has global variables but you must prefix them with $. Code with too many $'s is ugly, indicating a problem with your code.
• Dangerous methods have ! in name, because of side effects. This forces you to recognize that you are doing something side-effecting.