[watwatinthewat]

The argument seems to mostly boil down to this one part: "Coding books for kids present coding as a set of problems with “correct” solutions. And if your children can just master the syntax, they’ll be able to make things quickly and easily. But that is not the way programming works. Programming is messy. Programming is a mix of creativity and determination. Being a developer is about more than syntax, and certain skills can only be taught to the very young."

Isn't that true of most "adult" things taught to young children? Says you want to teach a sport, basketball. At a young age, all the kid is going to do at best is "master the syntax". That doesn't mean it isn't useful to start at an early age.

The author's argument can be applied to anything complex. You don't think kids "master the syntax first" learning math? Should we not start teaching math at a young age?

It seems the author is really just upset that anyone thinks coding is something simplistic to any degree.