This is an anecdote about a big Matlab proponent who switched sides.<p>I learned Matlab from my Econ 101 professor 8 years ago. He was a big Matlab proponent, and he knew all the econ tools inside out.<p>We kept in touch, since he has been one of the best professors I&#x27;ve ever had. So, fast forward to 2 years ago, I sent him an email asking about this [1] Quantitative Economics course by Sargent and Stachurski based on python. He told me that it looked interesting and that he would give it a try and tell me what he thought. This was his first approach to Python.<p>Two months later he sends me an email telling me that he&#x27;s ditched Matlab for good, he&#x27;s taken a couple MOOC python courses and that he is having a lot of fun with Python. He also praised the community and all the open source tools. He also told me to get away from the Sargent and Stachurski course, that they add too much complexity to the explanations just for the sake of looking more Nobel-prize-winner like.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;quant-econ.net&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;quant-econ.net&#x2F;</a>