Option[X] is a crock. It's forcing you to write same bulky if-statements that you need to write for null checks.

I want something like NOT NULL in SQL. Can't static typing make it completely impossible that I'll get a null in a situation where it should be completely impossible?

For instance if something is typed as a collection, I'd like to never see null, I'd rather always get an empty collection. If I have to test for None, I'm just adding more bulky code where errors can hide, particularly when the type inference system in Scala is always doing strange things behind my back.

In my mind, automatic conversions make the problem worse in Scala, not better. Code "just works" for the programmer in certain situations no matter how inconsistent people are in the types they use.

The trouble I see is that Scala programmers seem to be pretty random if they're going return an Array, a java.util.List or a scala.util.List. This is really a pain in the ass when I'm trying to access some Scala objects from Java and I don't have automatic conversion available. I'm also sure that these different choices have all kinds of effects when you consider inheritance, variance, type inference and all that. It adds to the problem of spooky action at a distance in Scala.