This topic title is perfect for smug weenies of all varieties who wish to make derogatory HaHaOnlySerious comments about their supposed competition. Certain tools were said to cause BrainDamage such as Cobol and Basic. Dijkstra used several humorous and harsh phrases in his writings to describe BrainDamage, such as "mentally mutilated". : ''"It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC; as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration." -- EwDijkstra'' The crux of this topic is discussed more thoroughly in ToolsThatTeachPoorHabits, and is related to such pages as VbTeachesBadHabits and CobolCausesBrainDamage.