[AnimalMuppet]

In absolute terms, no, learning is never a waste of time. In a world with limited time, though, everything has its opportunity cost. The time spent learning A could have been spent learning any of B through Z.

So: "Is Haskell worth learning?" Yes, certainly. "Is learning Haskell the best use of my limited time for such activities?" That's a much harder question.

(And it doesn't have to be the best use of your time. It could be close enough that it's not worth the time looking for something better.)

[dllthomas]

I think the opportunity cost is meant to be weighed in any question of "is X worth it?"

That said, I appreciate your calling it out specifically (even if I'd have used other words), as that is absolutely the real question.

My answer, I'm sure you'd guess, is "yes" - but certainly I agree that it's harder than the same question but ignoring the costs :-P