Yes you can start out with lisp.  You will certainly learn a lot if you go that route, there are good resources out there if you do (see the link to SICP someone else posted, and also look at one of my favorite books, The Little Schemer[1]).  Still, I'm not sure it's a path that I would recommend.  You will be able to go farther, more quickly in Ruby.  There are more libraries, better resources for those new to programming, and (this is subjective of course) a more welcoming community if you need to ask for help.<p>But, if you are willing to figure some things out by yourself, don't let me discourage you from starting with lisp.<p>edit: forgot Little Schemer ref.  see: <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=xyO-KLexVnMC&#38;dq=the+little+schemer&#38;printsec=frontcover&#38;source=bn&#38;hl=en&#38;ei=HW1XS-nUIZGuswOouNHFBw&#38;sa=X&#38;oi=book_result&#38;ct=result&#38;resnum=5&#38;ved=0CBwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&#38;q=&#38;f=false" rel="nofollow">http://books.google.com/books?id=xyO-KLexVnMC&#38;dq=the+lit...</a>