Agreed, and to me, this makes the point that the syntax (arrangement) is a key component to an unwillingness to learn. However, I don't see how this establishes lisp as having, "very fundamental differences in thinking and conceptualisation that are difficult or impossible to 'just' teach over". With left-handed scissors, you have the same concept; you just need to train your left hand to use them. Likewise with syntax. Describing that as being a very fundamental difference that is difficult or impossible to teach over seems odd to me.
I don't think you're getting the example of left-handed scissors; try something like adaptation for red-green colourblindness, where you can't really train around it. Although that's physically based, which is going to be a distraction in the analogy; try the reported observation that some dyslexic people find Comic Sans easier to read.
Or trousers. One size does not fit all.
Or the people discussing the intuitive representation of Maxwells' equations themselves: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23700295 - not everybody likes the equations, some people like pictures for a better understanding, but the equations-first people may not understand that.
Agreed, and to me, this makes the point that the syntax (arrangement) is a key component to an unwillingness to learn. However, I don't see how this establishes lisp as having, "very fundamental differences in thinking and conceptualisation that are difficult or impossible to 'just' teach over". With left-handed scissors, you have the same concept; you just need to train your left hand to use them. Likewise with syntax. Describing that as being a very fundamental difference that is difficult or impossible to teach over seems odd to me.