>>60
fyi epistemology is the branch of philosophy that is about how knowledge is obtained. C++ encourages you to use your magic prediction powers to be able to tell what the program will look like before you write it. That's what he was complaining about. Any language that isn't good for exploratory programming isn't good for programming at all. And that's the essence of 'premature optimization is the root of all evil' It is IMPOSSIBLE to make something both flexible and optimized. You have to optimize later, when the design is settled. C++ does not allow this attitude.
And this DOES affect personality. Someone who prides himself on his ability to anticipate needs is known as "codependent", and it's an unhealthy way to live your life. It comes along with intense fear of vulnerability and distrust of anyone around you to take care of themselves. The parallels that these traits have with the semantics of the C++ language and how it is idiomatically used are pretty obvious, I think.
And yeah, I'm projecting my own experience. But I've seen it in my peers and others on the internet (including Naggum) have seen the same pattern. Some programmers can write code all day without it affecting the way they think, but the parallels between how C++ works and genuine psychological dysfunction don't speak well for the language either way, I think.