[mturmon]

I agree with your observations, especially that the the expert has a built-up library of routines that he understands and that have proven themselves.

My question about using Fortran as the main infrastructure is that this does not sound like a big data problem. It sounds more like an exploratory data analysis and model development problem. In which case a REPL-based environment like Python, Matlab, or R would have a lot to offer: interactivity, integrated plotting, modeling toolboxes.

People in my group do scientific computing with Fortran, large datasets, and big iron, and it works great in that domain. As people in this thread have noted, there is significant support for automated parallelization. I used to snicker at these dinosaurs (their own self-deprecating term), but I have noticed their publication record seems to be piling up faster than mine. I have therefore gotten over it, and hope that the dinosaurs are not snickering back at me.