Lisp was the first to have first-class functions and garbage collection which have become common language features by now. But it also has many features that still are not widespread. Its metaprogramming is unparalleled, especially reader macros. A lot of its power comes from that. Rust macros and C++26 compile time reflection are steps in the right direction but still nowhere near what Lisp offers. Java's Project Babylon is also cool but not in the same ballpark.
When doing joint debugging with teammates, I've seen so many of them randomly add or remove & and * from C++ statements trying to get their code to compile, without bothering to reason through the issue. I suspect this stochastic approach to code development is pretty common. That is not going to unlock the benefits of metaprogramming either, where you have to deliberately build up the language you want to have.
Metaprogramming is extremely powerful but hard to use, especially for novices. I also think there is a general lack of education about programming languages and compilers at play here. So much of Lisps power comes from knowing that.
When doing joint debugging with teammates, I've seen so many of them randomly add or remove & and * from C++ statements trying to get their code to compile, without bothering to reason through the issue. I suspect this stochastic approach to code development is pretty common. That is not going to unlock the benefits of metaprogramming either, where you have to deliberately build up the language you want to have.
Metaprogramming is extremely powerful but hard to use, especially for novices. I also think there is a general lack of education about programming languages and compilers at play here. So much of Lisps power comes from knowing that.