[kps]

> Article acts like having a 'richer' language approximating English makes it easier or more approachable, but whenever I've tried such languages I've found them harder.

You're not the target audience. Grace Hopper explained it:

“I used to be a mathematics professor. At that time I found there were a certain number of students who could not learn mathematics. I then was charged with the job of making it easy for businessmen to use our computers. I found it was not a question of whether they could learn mathematics or not, but whether they would. […] They said, ‘Throw those symbols out — I do not know what they mean, I have not time to learn symbols.’ I suggest a reply to those who would like data processing people to use mathematical symbols that they make the first attempt to teach those symbols to vice-presidents or a colonel or admiral. I assure you that I tried it.”

The goal was to give senior management the illusion of understanding what their hirelings were doing.

[veltas]

Very interesting, and I have a lot of respect for Grace Hopper personally. I think tech that's meant to look 'correct' to the right people is often worse off for it, though. I've got no interest in appealing to the people that won't even bother trying to look at it if it reminds them of maths or uses something other than plain English, but it has a place I suppose. I just think the posted article overestimates its scope.