I like Scala, but it seems like it tries too hard to accommodate every possible programmer. If you stick to the OO side of Scala and avoid FP then it's similar to Java. Add some higher order functions to the mix and you'll get a mixture of OO and FP that dynamic language users will love. If you don't like higher order functions then you can sugar them with for-comprehensions, and suddenly it looks familiar to Pythonistas. Pull in Scalaz and now you've got monads, monoids, applicative functors, and all the other goodies you'd hope to have in Haskell-like languages.
On my team we've got a mix of backgrounds. We've got people who've done Java, a gaggle of diehard Pythonistas, our CTO is a badass Rubyist, and I can't seem to shut the hell up about Haskell. Our Scala looks like it suffers from multiple personality disorder at times.
Scala: we like you. You don't have to try so hard to impress us. Just tell us how you really feel instead of trying to figure out what we want to hear.
On my team we've got a mix of backgrounds. We've got people who've done Java, a gaggle of diehard Pythonistas, our CTO is a badass Rubyist, and I can't seem to shut the hell up about Haskell. Our Scala looks like it suffers from multiple personality disorder at times.
Scala: we like you. You don't have to try so hard to impress us. Just tell us how you really feel instead of trying to figure out what we want to hear.