[seccess]

> Python has been the defacto standard in scientific/data/academic programming for decades

In my experience (Genomics) this is simply not true. Python has caught on over the last 5 or so years, but prior to that Perl was the defacto language for genetic analysis. Its still quite heavily used. Perl is not a paragon of simplicity and clarity.

[Darvon]

I was in academic compsci/ai from 2001-2017 and it was entirely c++ and python in my department, except for one oldschool professor who used delphi.

[seccess]

Haha, there is always one :)

I feel like trying out various languages/frameworks would affect compsci labs a lot less than other fields, since the students probably have some foundational knowledge of languages and have already learned a few before getting there. Might be easier for them to pick up new ones.

[DeathArrow]

At my University AI and ML were taught using Java. It was more handy to both teachers and students since most other courses used Java.

[alphachloride]

It may not be true for a niche field. It is true broadly for computation in academia.

[seccess]

I don't find this response convincing because:

(a) While I'm being honest that my observations are based on the fields I have experience, there is no such justification that "It is true broadly for computation in academia" in your comment.

(b) Interpreting "niche" as "small" (especially given your "true broadly" claim): Computational genetics is huge in terms of funding dollars and number of researchers.