[elzbardico]

The only valid reason is that you'd like to know how to program a computer.

Nobody ever expected me to be able to learn to do surgery, plant stuff, design buildings or whatever. Programming is not basic literacy. Let's stop pretending it is.

[tau5210]

I agree. For instance, with cars, the essence of a car is driving, and hence the only thing that a common user cares about is learning how to drive one. In particular, a common user should not need, and are usually not interested in, having automechanic skills. On the contrary, that's the whole point of car manufactures and workshops, so that a common user doesn't have to care about those technical details under the hood, but just focus on the main task i.e. driving.

I think it's similar with computers and programs. The essence of a computer is information, so the main skill a common person needs is knowing how to work with information e.g. in the present day, navigate the web safely, how to research appropriately + identify reliable sources, organize and analyze data, manage privacy, etc They shouldn't have to be programmers themselves, and indeed, that's the whole point of software, so that a common person can focus on their main task of working with information, and not have to be concerned about technical details under the hood.

note: things like excel macros where a software has a programming-like feature is a different matter, since it's a feature exposed explicitly by the software for users to exploit if need be. In any case, it's a software choice and hence specific only to that software.

[lm28469]

Most programming jobs aren't much harder than basic literacy. You don't need to be a tesla drivetrain engineer to work on the factory floor, same for programming

[Diggsey]

There are a ton of "programming-adjacent" jobs where having some programming knowledge is very useful if only to communicate effectively with engineers. Those jobs are often quite well paid as well compared to similar jobs at non-tech companies.

ie. if you want to get a well paying job doing what you love, then learning to program might be an important part of that even if programming is not what you love.