[j_baker]

You see, I'm proud to say I am the proto-enabler of the meme that everyone can learn to code (not Codecademy, or however you spell it).

I don't mean to disparage the good things Zed has done in helping new people learn to code, but am I the only one who is a bit put off with the narcissism here? I mean, Zed is hardly the first person to encourage non-programmers to program, or to write a book to teach non-programmers to program.

Regardless, I don't think Zed's point is mutually exclusive to Jeff's. It sounds to me as though Zed is saying "Everyone can learn to program", while Jeff is saying "Yes, but that doesn't mean that everyone should learn to program". I think these two ideas can coexist.

[josephcooney]

You certainly weren't alone there re: the over-the-top narcissism, and seems like massive disrespect to everyone involved in languages research for the last 40 years, which has attempted to make programming easier and more accessible. Alan Kay would be rolling in his grave if he were dead.