Danny -
I am learning squeak for exactly the same reasons.
Up until a month or so ago, I did all my data analysis in C programs. A funny thing happened when my workstation was upgraded to an 8-core machine: my programs became I/O bound at a work load of 2 to 3 (ideal would be 8). My CPUs are way faster than my disk drives. This situation got me thinking about going back to dynamic languages since I've got plenty of cycles to burn on this new computer. Why not Python? Why not Smalltalk?
I have all the usual reservations about Squeak/Smalltalk. Does Squeak have the libraries to develop data analysis programs? Will it fit in to our existing infrastructure? Will people except and use software tools written in Squeak? Will I be able to share my code with colleagues? Not sure about the answers to any of these questions.
Right now I am just working my way through the books and tutorials to get a feel for the language and Squeak environment.
Cheers,
David