Why is Python so Popular despite being Slow?

The Reign of a “Slow” Language in the Age of Lightning

Origin: https://www.sethserver.com/python/why-is-python-so-slow.html

I. The Speed Illusion: When Rocket Engines Don’t Fit in Parking Lots

There’s a persistent joke in tech circles: Python is 27x slower than C! — usually proclaimed by someone metaphorically driving a rocket to buy milk. Their carefully crafted benchmarks are like forcing Einstein to arm-wrestle Mike Tyson, then declaring the boxer smarter.

Let’s debunk this myth with surgical precision:

Python’s “Shame Test”:

total = 0  
for i in range(10_000_000):  # Type checks, memory allocations...  
    total += i               # 0.788s of humiliation 

But in the real world, Python warriors write this:

import numpy as np  
total = np.arange(10_000_000).sum()  # Summoning C-powered fury in 0.06s  

This 13x gap isn’t a language flaw — it’s a masterclass in tool selection. Just as no sane person launches rockets for grocery runs, real developers don’t process data with native Python loops. They drive Corollas with jet engines under the hood.

II. Time Relativity: 24 Hours vs 1 Hour — The Human Cost of “Speed”