Hmm, my original comment was not a "gotcha" it is the simple truth.
Anyone trying to sell you a tool by claiming that "it will make you a good whatever" is just trying it on. Yes, a good tool can help achieve better results but that's not the same at all.
Then, all the replies I received were seemingly defiant but all in fact agreed to the point while trying to sound smart.
The issue with your comment is the dismissive and reductionist point of view, this place isn't childish, it's exactly the opposite: people here don't tolerate so much statements of absoluteness or broken analogies.
This isn't dismissive nor reductionist. This is a simple fact of life. Perhaps experience is needed to grasp this, though, and to understand the analogy.
Childish, because I feel that some commenters see posting as a pissing contest.
Comparing a programming language to a paint brush is reductive. And arguing "this is a simple fact of life", and that those who disagree with you lack experience, is dismissive.
>Then, all the replies I received were seemingly defiant but all in fact agreed to the point while trying to sound smart.
And where exactly is the problem? You've received exactly the type of answer you wanted. steveklabnik repeatedly agreed with you by saying that a programming language cannot make you a good programmer.
Remember, your "simple truth" is just a small part of the whole story. The other part is that less strict languages allow you get away with mistakes and be lazy but later on fail catastrophically (e. g. by "losing a thumb"). You're dismissing this very important part as "trying to sound smart" or by calling it childish.
I was not trying to disagree with you. As you said, in some sense, I agree. The point is that it's not as simple as what you're saying. There is some truth to it, but it's not the whole story.
Anyone trying to sell you a tool by claiming that "it will make you a good whatever" is just trying it on. Yes, a good tool can help achieve better results but that's not the same at all.
Then, all the replies I received were seemingly defiant but all in fact agreed to the point while trying to sound smart.