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RailsConf 09: Robert Martin, "What Killed Smalltalk Could K
O'Reilly
Robert Martin's RailsConf 2009 talk looks at why Smalltalk lost out despite its technical strengths. He draws lessons about language communities and arrogance that he argues could hurt Ruby too.
HN cites it in discussions of language evangelism, community dynamics and zealotry, as an accessible account of how a good language can die for non-technical reasons.
14 Hacker News mentions · 2012–2026