How do we tell truths that might hurt? (1975)
Personally, I&#x27;ve always thought this letter was the plainest proof that Dijkstra&#x27;s pithy quotes (and those that parrot them) should not be taken seriously, no matter how entertaining they are.  That list covers most the major languages of the day; what he would have to say about $(YOUR_FAVORITE_LANGUAGE) would surely be equally unkind were he alive today.<p>That isn&#x27;t to say that he did not have valid reasoning for his dislikes as a language expert and a mathematician but those reasons are not ones the bulk of practitioners would likely agree are valid.