[csa]

> Keep in mind you're really only able to learn to code if you're able to read English at a proficient level, which only ~13% of Americans are able to do.

Proficiency is measured on a scale — it is not binary.

What specific level of proficiency are you referring to, and what is your source for saying that this is the minimum level needed to learn to code. I will go out on a limb and say that your 13% is folks who can read at a 12th grade level (or thereabouts). Note that in the literature, this does not refer to the reading level of an average 12th grader, rather the level that curriculum developers aim to have 12 graders read at.

Also, what level of coding are your referring to?

I will just say straight up that I can teach and have taught kids who have little or no knowledge of English how to code (e.g., with Scratch), so I think you may need to make your assumptions a bit more transparent.

[Alex3917]

Source: https://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/PDF/2006470.PDF

> Also, what level of coding are your referring to?

Just being a working developer. For which the main skill is just being able to read and understand the documentation for new languages, frameworks, libraries, etc.

[csa]

Thank you for the source.

That said, I don’t think proficiency as defined in that source is an ideal proxy for “can be a developer”, especially given the that “developer” can refer to a wide range of tasks.

Some comments:

1. To pass a FAANG algo interview, yes, the proficient level is needed.

2. To do the bulk of coding and bug fixing that many (most?) developers do, I think that there are a lot of high intermediates (my sub-categorization of intermediate) can do the work and actually are employed as developers. I’ve seen enough janky code in code bases and submitted as “updates” or “fixes” for me to believe that this is widely true.

3. To be a productive creator, I also think the proficient level is necessary. That said, I have seen a bunch of janky creations with questionable efficiency/productivity that lead me to believe again that proficiency is an ideal rather than a necessity.

Literacy is a tricky subject, so I encourage you to exercise caution before throwing around ideas like only the proficient 13% of the population can be developers. There are so many qualifications that need to be made before that statement is plausibly true that it is not worth making, imo.

Let me add that I agree with your overall statement that most successful founders come from relatively privileged backgrounds. There are many reasons for this, literacy being one.