.. then this PSA does not apply to you, as you would have been programming already, given the abundance of situations where you accidentally step into programming, from Lego Mindstorms to the javascript in “view page source” in your browser. Do you know any M3 programmer who did not know that until the age of, say, 18?
given the abundance of situations where you accidentally step into programming
These only exist in particular socioeconomic situations. Most parents do not buy Lego Mindstorms for their kids.
Consider that Apple II in 1977. It cost $1300; the median income in the U.S. was $11884. The median income in 2011 was $48152, so imagine a working-class family buying a $5200 computer for their kid to mess around on. Not likely! So not many working-class kids would have one.
Today, fortunately, you can get a more powerful computer today for $25 — a Raspberry Pi. The socioeconomic situation for learning computing has changed.
It’s very easy for people to mistake their skills acquired through long and heavy practice for “natural talent” … especially if the practice didn’t feel like practice at the time, but felt like play. An unfortunate consequence of this is that people who have those skills may tend to see people who don’t have them, or who don’t acquire them rapidly, as lacking natural talent.
Or, to put it in Eliezer’s tabletop role-playing vocabulary: you have to earn the experience points before you can spend them on character traits.
I edited because the code I looked at seemed to be atypical, comparing it to what others have posted. No, I don’t think I’m M3 at all—though my father probably is, as he picked up programming in his twenties and knows many languages. As I had expected the code to look like nonsense, I was merely surprised I could get some idea about what was going on. My prior for being able to get a programming job with <300 hours of dedicated practice is low, but it could be something to investigate as a hobby.
.. then this PSA does not apply to you, as you would have been programming already, given the abundance of situations where you accidentally step into programming, from Lego Mindstorms to the javascript in “view page source” in your browser. Do you know any M3 programmer who did not know that until the age of, say, 18?
EDIT: Huh, may have worked for at least one person here, though probably not an M3.
EDIT2: The parent was edited after I replied, so this reply may look out of context.
These only exist in particular socioeconomic situations. Most parents do not buy Lego Mindstorms for their kids.
Consider that Apple II in 1977. It cost $1300; the median income in the U.S. was $11884. The median income in 2011 was $48152, so imagine a working-class family buying a $5200 computer for their kid to mess around on. Not likely! So not many working-class kids would have one.
Today, fortunately, you can get a more powerful computer today for $25 — a Raspberry Pi. The socioeconomic situation for learning computing has changed.
It’s very easy for people to mistake their skills acquired through long and heavy practice for “natural talent” … especially if the practice didn’t feel like practice at the time, but felt like play. An unfortunate consequence of this is that people who have those skills may tend to see people who don’t have them, or who don’t acquire them rapidly, as lacking natural talent.
Or, to put it in Eliezer’s tabletop role-playing vocabulary: you have to earn the experience points before you can spend them on character traits.
I edited because the code I looked at seemed to be atypical, comparing it to what others have posted. No, I don’t think I’m M3 at all—though my father probably is, as he picked up programming in his twenties and knows many languages. As I had expected the code to look like nonsense, I was merely surprised I could get some idea about what was going on. My prior for being able to get a programming job with <300 hours of dedicated practice is low, but it could be something to investigate as a hobby.