[iandev]

Is it possible that programming is both hard and easy? I somewhat feel that this post lacks the nuance that it complains of the other side lacking.

I'm of the opinion that anyone that thinks you must be of some special intelligence to become a software engineer is wrong because frankly it's no harder than many other careers. However, I do side with the author that we shouldn't be dismissive and pretend it's extra easy either.

I want some nuance. As with all things, programming is easy to get into, hard to be great at. Doing it doesn't make you particularly special. Working hard and getting better at _something_ is what matters.

[bigger_cheese]

I think the real problem is the word "Programming" is such a poorly defined and generic term. Until you pin down exactly which definition of programming you are talking about saying "Programming is hard" is no more meaningful than saying "Mathematics is hard" or "Writing is hard".

What frustrates me is the reputation programming has, it has somehow cultivated this image that computer code is some kind of magical and esoteric thing which you need to be some kind of genius or wizard to understand. It's reputation is such that otherwise sensible people will balk, hesitate and just completely shutdown when confronted with code. I am an engineer (the non-software type) I see this behavior in my coworkers and it frustrates me to no end there is this prevalent attitude 'I'm not a programmer, computer code is too hard to understand...'

It reminds me of the reputation Mathematics (the subject) had when I was in high school. Math had a reputation as being a 'hard' subject so a lot of people seemed to come into it with preconceived notions that it was difficult to learn and therefore they weren't smart enough to understand it so they weren't going to engage with it. I see exactly the same attitudes with 'programming' today.

[Ashanmaril]

I think programming is easy to get into if it's just something you enjoy (which could apply to anything, really). Throughout getting my CS degree it seemed like there was a pretty clear line between the people were going through the motions of the courses and making it through based on what was taught and the information provided, and the people who just enjoy programming and do it for fun in their free time. If you're the latter, you'll probably naturally pick up the required skills cause you're engaged and want to learn more.