On syntax, in Haskell and Lisp
Yes, but not so much simplicity of syntax. I'm misled here by a superficial resemblance between the cultures of Haskell and Lisp. Both cultures are obsessed with mechanically processing code, and therefore want the language core to be as simple as possible. Since a minimal core is impractical to program in, both expect a larger, more useful language to be defined by translation to the core, so its complexity can be mechanically eliminated. And both consider the representation of code as text to be separate, at least in principle, from the core. So at first glance, it seems as if they should have the same attitude to syntactic complexity.
But they treat it quite differently. Lisp's culture considers syntax unimportant, and therefore tries to make it as simple and transparent as possible, so it won't prevent humans from seeing through it — because code is much more interesting than its textual representation. But Haskell's culture considers syntax safely separate from the language core, and is therefore willing to tolerate complexity in it. Since it goes away without inflicting any complexity on the core, why shouldn't it include whatever features are convenient?
