[beders]

It does look alien. There's definitely a learning curve. But since you have the REPL, it can be very effective in understanding foreign code. Run some of the functions, add tracing to it, debug printlns, use with-redefs to replace functions dynamically etc. Once you understand the data schema better, add spec to the mix.

It is a very different approach and takes time to get used to.

I'm stuck on the other side: I have millions of lines of legacy Java code with high complexity. Even with all the types and very long names, understanding the code is not easy either and the 'step into/step over' buttons in the debugger are seared into my brain. Luckily IDEA can run arbitrary Java expressions during debugging, which gives you some interactivity back.