> I don't see any correlation between one's first programming language and their programming abilities.
I don't see tikhonj saying that at all. I read it as an assertion that scheme is a superior language for bootstrapping people into the programmer mindset.
One might say that a Lisp dialect overcomes the difficulty suggested by the author because:
1. Code looks less like algebra than many other languages.
2. The algebraic symbols Lisp dialects use tend to carry their algebraic meanings, e.g. "(" and "*".
3. Fewer side effects make the language read more similarly to algebra, in so far as it is centered around determine values.
That's not to say that Lisp dialects are the best starting point for learning programming. Only that they appear to address the issue of syntax raised in the article.
I don't see tikhonj saying that at all. I read it as an assertion that scheme is a superior language for bootstrapping people into the programmer mindset.