June 14, 2026
The code that refused to die
The Birth and Death of JavaScript (2014)
A 2014 joke about JavaScript’s funeral is now spooking fans who say the punchline came true
TLDR: This 2014 comedy talk joked about the rise and fall of JavaScript, and commenters now think parts of that future look surprisingly real. The big debate is whether the language is still king or just the old shell that newer tools keep wearing, which matters because it still powers huge chunks of the internet.
A 2014 talk called The Birth and Death of JavaScript is having a very dramatic second life online, because the comment section has decided the real plot twist is how much of it now feels weirdly accurate. The talk itself is a comedy-meets-history lesson about JavaScript, the web’s most famous programming language, and it lovingly roasts the language’s flaws while still crediting it with changing the industry. But the crowd? They came ready with receipts, grudges, and jokes.
The hottest reaction is basically: “So… did JavaScript die, or did it just become everyone else’s costume?” One commenter says we’re already past the midpoint of the talk’s imagined future, and JavaScript looks like it’s writing its own obituary while other tools quietly take over behind the scenes. Another sums up years of tech chaos with a brutal one-liner: every few years, the industry invents a “better JavaScript” — and then turns it right back into JavaScript anyway. Ouch.
Then there’s the nostalgia-fueled trauma. One person recalls trying to make a button change color in the early days, being so horrified by the language’s punctuation-heavy look that they walked away forever — and, in true comment-section fashion, they want everyone to know they have “never regretted” it. Meanwhile, the funniest running gag is that the speaker allegedly predicted a worldwide disaster in the early 2020s, just not the exact kind. The verdict from the peanut gallery: messy, prophetic, and extremely on-brand for JavaScript.
Key Points
- •The article presents a 2014 talk that traces the history of JavaScript and programming from 1995 to 2035.
- •The talk is described as a mix of science fiction, comedy, and seriousness.
- •The article says the talk is neither pro- nor anti-JavaScript and addresses the language’s flaws directly.
- •Despite discussing flaws, the article states that JavaScript’s overall impact on the industry is tremendously positive.
- •The article also recommends Gary Bernhardt’s Destroy All Software screencasts and the Execute Program interactive course platform.