[Haskell-cafe] Time for a new logo?

[Andrew Coppin]

Malcolm Wallace wrote:
> Andrew Coppin <andrewcoppin at btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> To him, apparently, the current logo says "Haskell is all
>> about  arcane and obscure mathematical constructs. In fact, we think
>> that  complicated mathematics is so good that we stuffed our logo full
>> of it.  If you don't like hard math, don't even bother trying to learn
>> this  language."
>>     
>
> I think he got the right idea (kind of).  To him, mathematics is arcane,
> but to Haskellers it is the fundamental basis of computation.  If
> someone is not prepared to invest in learning the foundations of the
> subject of Computer Science, then they have no business becoming a
> programmer.
>
> We really must get away from the idea that programming is something any
> old fool should be able to pick up.  Programming correct software is
> hard, and it requires a mathematical mind.
>   

I think the accusation is more that Haskell tries to be cryptic and 
arcane *on purpose*, just to confuse people.

Sure, there are many concepts in Haskell which just aren't found 
anywhere else. But monads? Catamorphisms? Coroutines? Couldn't we think 
up some less intimidating terminology?

{-# LANGUAGE ExistentialQuantification #-}

Hmm, now if this was Perl or something, that would be 
HiddenTypeVariables or something. Much less fearsom-sounding.

But then, I guess that's what you get for a lanuage designed by a 
committee of university professors. ;-)

At any rate, if we're to have a logo, let's not have one which actively 
*promotes* the notion that Haskell is complex and difficult and that 
only theoretical physicists need apply...