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"The "space" of all possible programs is so huge that no one can have a sense of what is possible. Each higher-level language is naturally suited for exploring certain regions of "program space"; thus the programmer, by using that language, is channeled into those areas of program space. He is not forced by the language into writing programs of any particular type, but the language makes it easy for him to do certain kinds of things. Proximity to a concept, and a gentle shove, are often all that is needed for a major discovery-and that is the reason for the drive towards languages of ever higher levels."
Douglas Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is a mathematician, cognitive scientist, and Pulitzer Prize winning author.
Biography information from Wikiquote
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This contrast between language A, which has a blob where language B has none, is what we mean by the phrase “the genius of language A”; it is the special ability of language A to get at certain concepts that no other language gets at as easily — and complementarily, it is also the set of weaknesses that language A has in expressing certain things that, in some other languages, are as easy as falling off a log.