<i>&gt;If we accept that, then simplicity alone is not a desirable goal</i><p>Or maybe simplicity in terms of the formal semantics is a desirable goal, but not the simplicity of the language alone.<p>At the end of the day, what determines mental load is the complexity of solving a particular problem using a particular language.<p>I don&#x27;t think this simplicity follows from the simplicity of the language itself. There may not even be the slightest correlation.