Yes, I was riffing on Lisp not really having a "syntax."
The fact that Erlang's syntax is (disclaimer: subjective) awful just adds further grist to the Elixir mill, assuming you think Elixir's syntax is (disclaimer: subjective) sweet.
Which a lot of people seem to be coming to the same conclusion on.
In Elixir, I have the full power of Lisp-level macros, in a functional immutable pattern-matching language, with a ridiculous level of concurrency (you can spawn a million or so processes in a second on your typical laptop), hot software upgradability (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96UzSHyp0F8 for a cool demo), access to the entire repository of already-existing battle-tested Erlang code...
... AND it's readable. :P
Lisp with its powerful macro facility has had literally dozens of years to find acceptance and still struggles (argumentum ad populum notwithstanding, a userbase with critical mass brings a plethora of other advantages). Ruby found enough of a niche that I think there is something to be said for Ruby's style of syntax. Elixir gives you both, and then some.
I was talking about Erlang and Elixir, not Lisp and Elixir. I don't need an introduction to Erlang/OTP, as I've used it for quite a while. You sound a lot like you're in the hyper-enthusiastic newbie phase, though.
I... guess I am. Is that OK? :) I like Erlang too... but I was one of the folks for whom the syntax turned me off originally. I can't explain why, especially if you're one of those developers (bless their pure-engineering hearts) who thinks syntax is irrelevant once you grok it. The best I can explain it is that some brains interpret computer code as a very abstract form of writing and some don't (or don't need to), and I may be one of the former, and that causes some syntaxes to "feel better" or "feel worse". It's... not very rational, sigh.
The fact that Erlang's syntax is (disclaimer: subjective) awful just adds further grist to the Elixir mill, assuming you think Elixir's syntax is (disclaimer: subjective) sweet.
Which a lot of people seem to be coming to the same conclusion on.