> do you skip the mental overhead of unlearning some things that'll get baked in by using 2.6
You're thinking that this is a significant thing. It isn't, at least not if you become a somewhat competent programmer.
Programming has very little to do with programming language details.
In fact, there's a reasonable argument that the more languages you know, the better programmer you're likely to be. Unfortunately, the difference between 2.6 and 3.1 probably isn't enough to help you in this regard. It is, however, enough to help you see some issues wrt language design.
You're thinking that this is a significant thing. It isn't, at least not if you become a somewhat competent programmer.
Programming has very little to do with programming language details.
In fact, there's a reasonable argument that the more languages you know, the better programmer you're likely to be. Unfortunately, the difference between 2.6 and 3.1 probably isn't enough to help you in this regard. It is, however, enough to help you see some issues wrt language design.