On the Meaning of Haskell

[John D. Earle]

While reading what Cynbe had to say at http://mythryl.org/ concerning the 
design of his language I came across the following: Simon Peyton-Jones 
refers to programming under this strict constraint as "wearing the hair 
shirt".

What Simon wrote caused me to reflect on its meaning for a time. I feel that 
what Simon is saying is that if you value the truth, you will be willing to 
suffer for it. Apparently, Cynbe is not willing to suffer. As such the Pagan 
motif is appropriate.