[Stormbringer]

The claim has been made that it is easier to move from a formal education in maths to functional programs.

E.g. if you've been dealing with things like f(x)->g(x) in math class for a couple of years, then a functional language is a more natural fit.

This is why the iconic learning lisp examples are calculating numbers from something like the fibonacci sequence or factorials, rather than something that is actually useful in the real world. (Which is not to say that fibonacci numbers and factorials aren't useful, but rather that those problems are well and truly thoroughly solved already)