Is this really an appropriate post? I don't know what Shen is, I find no explanation here, and I am required to enter a username and password to find out more.<p>(I don't get all the nuances of HN; it's an honest question.)
Between the impressive language and a rather offputting website, I really want to learn more but at the same time am afraid to. On one hand, the type system is interesting and the work put into improving Lisp is visible; at the same time, I can't find any publications or explanations of the type system, his intro for Lisp programmers doesn't address macros, and he seems intent on selling me copies of his book on Qi before I even properly learn to use it. Neither can I find example code. So basically, if there was an argument to be made about programmers not understanding marketing, now would be a time to make it.
For those looking for more information, check out the specification page which has a nice introduction and more in depth documentation:<p><a href="http://www.lambdassociates.org/specification/shen_1.7.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.lambdassociates.org/specification/shen_1.7.htm</a>
If you're using Homebrew on OS X, here's a formula to install Shen 1.7: <a href="https://github.com/hadronzoo/homebrew/blob/master/Library/Formula/shen.rb" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/hadronzoo/homebrew/blob/master/Library/Fo...</a>