[randcraw]

First, I agree that the statement presumes a lot without offering any evidence. Second, I essentially agree with it; I believe most people cannot code and can't be taught it.

Coding requires a turn of mind that at least half of the population lacks: abstraction. You must be able to map a problem space into a form that is amenable to decomposition and solution using data and instructions. I think most technically inclined folks would be surprised how many smart people lack this ability (like doing basic high school math). Many others lack basic skills in logic, or the ability to define a reliable procedure. (I say this after 60 years of life, working in both white collar and blue collar settings). It's not that these people are stupid. Their minds just don't welcome abstract thought and the hierarchy of formal sequential models that is code.

In my experience, the set of skills peculiar to writing software well is surprisingly uncommon.