[the_other_b]

I have a BS in Computer Science and whenever I help people pick up programming I notice scope is always one of the toughest concepts for them to grasp.

It could of course be a reflection of my teaching ability, but it always seems to be a tough one.

[oooooooooooow]

Strange! Sadly I don't remember the experience of learning about scope myself (I was too young), now I find it hard to see the "mind state" that makes it hard to understand.

Isn't it a feature of natural languages to have the same word assume different meanings depending on where it's used? The concept translates nicely, and in PLs it's completely explicit whenever this happens.

[VVertigo]

That is an interesting thought: although, it is something that non-native speakers struggle with when learning a new language. I wonder if that is a factor when learning a new computer language/concept too.

I suspect it is also related to the Curse of Knowledge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge). Once you are past the hurdle of initially learning a concept it makes it hard to imagine not being able to grasp it: especially when dealing with abstract concepts such as scopes.

[oooooooooooow]

Exactly what I was trying to express (the Curse of knowledge), thank you for bringing it up, wasn't aware of the phrase.