Scheme-like lambda expressions?

Question

Scheme syntax seems very lambda-expression-friendly. I can do this

(define blah
   (lambda (n) (* n n)))

But this isn't possible in elisp. I can do this

(defun simple (x)
  ((lambda (n) (* n n)) x))

but of course not this

(defun simple
   (lambda (n) (* n n)))

or this

defun simple ()
       (lambda (n) (* n n)))

Hence, elisp seems a step removed from the Scheme world of "purer" lambda expressions . . . or am I, the beginner, missing something here . . . or is this not a big deal, i.e., there's nothing gained with the Scheme way of doing lambda.

Answer 1

It's not a big deal. You can still:

(setq blah-1
      (lambda (n) (* n n)))
(funcall blah-1 3)
;; => 9
(fset 'blah-2 (lambda (n) (* n n)))
(blah-2 3)
;; => 9

Basically, Elisp is LISP-2, and Scheme is LISP-1.