However, he did say that starting off with python makes an undergraduate’s initial experiences maximally productive in the current environment. http://cemerick.com/2009/03/24/why-mit-now-uses-python-inste...
fun fact: norvig switched to python (for his textbook) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1803815
It's horses for courses (or ophidia for courses in this case).