All this debate is moot, it seems to me. I have always regarded the ability to program to be an innate skill, not something that one without the gift can really learn. Oh, I can learn the game of basketball, the rules and how I'm supposed to make my body work in order to perform the maneuvers needed to make a basket. But learning those things and putting them all together at game speed is another matter. Not to mention that I am vertically challenged. I can also learn to draw and paint and sculpt, with similar results. When I discovered programming in college it was a revelation for me; it was such a natural fit for the way my brain was wired. When I tried to help others in the class who were having trouble, I was mystified that they just didn't get it; it was so clear to me. I tried and tried and came to be able to size up very quickly who had the gift and who didn't. Since then I've believed that programmers are born, not made. I think that most who can program already know it and already are. But sure, it may be repressed in some I suppose. So let people hop on this bandwagon and give it a try. Those that don't get it will drop it very quickly, but those that do will have their own revelation, and it'll be great!