[VeejayRampay]

Though I could argue that all the languages pretty much take the same amount of time to become an expert. Just because some languages are supposedly higher-level than others doesn't mean that the complexity they allow you to tackle (and associated challenges as a programmer or "expert") is any less.

Especially since being a good programmer is more about design, choice of interfaces, reactivity to change, etc. which are by definition language agnostic.

I firmly disagree that Ruby requires any less effort than say C, C++, Java or LISP to become an expert.

[cartwright]

I didn't mean to say that Ruby was less complex than C, I meant to say that if you take out the magic it is comprehensable and one can be good at it quickly enough just like a straightforward language like C. I agree that learning design, etc. is the real key in any language, thanks for pointing that out, because that's what everyone should focus on.