Pick a language. Create the same solution.<p>An old language like APL allows one to focus on the problem domain and almost not think about the mechanics of solving a problem. I programmed in APL many years ago and have to say that it was absolute bliss. Regrettably, the machines of the time were just not ready for a language like this and it failed to create the same traction that simpler languages, such as C, were able to command.<p>Most popular languages bury the programmer in so much minutiae that one is often very removed from the original problem being solved.<p>I propose that the future of computing. If we are seeking a higher plain of existence, if you will, needs to seek out tools that let a programmer describe problems almost like a performing artist plays a piano.<p>I also believe that programming with symbols --notation-- is as a tool for thought, a far more powerful paradigm than typing sentences in bad English. In math we have the integral symbol that, with a simple squiggle communicates what in a language like C requires a construct like a "for" loop, with all of it's little details. Notation is a very powerful tool. The only programming language I have ever known to use notation --special characters, symbols-- in such an expressive fashion is APL.<p>Can APL come back? Can it mutate into a next-generation language that might allow, say, a different and new level of work in fields like AI?
