He actually discusses it a bit in the previous paragraph, which does not seem to be online anywhere:
> When programming languages emerged, the "dynamic" nature of the assignment statement did not seem to fit too well into the "static" nature of traditional mathematics. For lack of an adequate theory mathematicians did not feel to easy about it, and, because it is the repetitive construct that creates the need for assignment to variables, mathematicians did not feel to easy about repetition either. When programming languages without assignments and without repetition --such as pure LISP-- were developed many felt greatly relieved. They were back on familiar grounds and saw a glimmer of hope of making programming an activity with a firm and respectable mathematical basis. (Up to this very day there is among the more theoretically inclined computing scientists still a widespread feeling that recursive programs "come more naturally" than repetitive ones.)
I've always felt that imperative programming is more in line with the way the overwhelming majority of people are exposed to algorithmic instructions; cookbooks, furniture instructions, Lego construction, driving directions, pick-your-own-adventure books, etc. Especially given how piss-poor most mathematics instruction is, unless you happen to be a mathematician and have put in the effort to recast your brain along those lines, it's easier to come to grips with the imperative style vs more mathematically inspired paradigms.
I wasn't slighting Dijkstra but merely commenting on the era of the time.
You can for example see how primitive things were back then by describing "mutable state" as "dynamic" and "immutable" as "static". Dynamic and static these days have entirely different connotations typically more associated with type systems.
Things have moved on and now in 2016 mutable state is increasingly being pushed out of codebases in favour of immutable practices. Recursion is (and always has been) one way of doing that.
> When programming languages emerged, the "dynamic" nature of the assignment statement did not seem to fit too well into the "static" nature of traditional mathematics. For lack of an adequate theory mathematicians did not feel to easy about it, and, because it is the repetitive construct that creates the need for assignment to variables, mathematicians did not feel to easy about repetition either. When programming languages without assignments and without repetition --such as pure LISP-- were developed many felt greatly relieved. They were back on familiar grounds and saw a glimmer of hope of making programming an activity with a firm and respectable mathematical basis. (Up to this very day there is among the more theoretically inclined computing scientists still a widespread feeling that recursive programs "come more naturally" than repetitive ones.)
Continued https://tinyletter.com/programmingphilosophy/letters/i-don-t...