There are two common questions we hear from outside the functional programming community: 'What is functional programming?', and 'Why should I use it?'. I have struggled to find good answers to these questions. In this talk, we will look at the existing definition and I will present a formulation I've been working on that attempts to answer both of these questions, and also why functional programming is so special. Eric, a functional programmer since 2001, is excited to see functional programming entering the mainstream. He loves teaching and cooking. You can learn functional programming from him at PurelyFunctional.tv and read his thoughts in The PurelyFunctional.tv Newsletter. If you visit him in New Orleans, you can meet his wife and daughter. He'll even make you some gumbo if you tell him you're coming.