In my view people are way too nice about Mumps, i.e. M, the computer language.
Yes, it was a breakthrough in its day, and the VA still uses it, and yes VistA, an open source medical records project, uses it.
To me, that means VistA is not really that great of a gift. People want to be nice about it, not say "but M is butt ugly" or anything so disrespectful.
This is how civilizations die (did Jared Diamond already say this?): they get too polite to have a sincere public discussion of anything. They become semi-paralyzed by "correct speech".
Americans reassure themselves by sounding rough and tumble on the radio, but mostly within the confines of a recognized "padded cell" called politics or political discourse, safely neutered and mediocre (thinking of so-called "rant TV" with its "ranter shows" ala Fox Network).
The political sphere provides a "safe ranting zone", a bubble , a theater, whereas more technical STEM topics are relegated to "the fringe" (not safe for nor accessible to the average ranter -- more X-Files in aspect).
I understand UC Davis helps train up new M programmers (check archives, math-thinking-l).
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