I'm fine with the idea that you like perl but the way you present your statement, it's almost as if you consider not understanding how to use the java type system as a compelling argument.

That's an interesting observation (that being fine with the idea of someone using modern perl is a thing), but perhaps there's a grain of truth to my level of Java ignorance - the last Java project of my own was written in the 1.4/1.5 days and left me feeling that getting reusable code out of huge towers of inheritance and interfaces seemed like more work than it should be.