[prodigal_erik]

I didn't encounter programming by luck. I was mesmerized by the first computer I saw, and soon sought out programming through library books and hobbyist magazines. At that time, home computers were rare and expensive, so I was lucky that my parents' indulgence made my obsession possible, but now? They're so common that it's very likely John's family had a desktop on which he could simply type "I want to program computers" and it would tell him how. I have trouble believing strong aptitude could go completely unexpressed until college.

[graeme]

You're assuming that someone knows what "I want to program computers" means.

I didn't. I loved playing around with computers. But no one in my family was technical. None of my friends programmed. I literally had no idea what programming was. Most people don't, even those who are otherwise very effective with computers.

Now I've started, much later, and I love it.

This xkcd comic is relevant: http://xkcd.com/519/

I'm sure if someone had shown me what a programming language or a terminal was, I would have started 10 years ago. Instead I learned about other things.

[Styck]

I had no idea either. I started programming in college but it wasn't until we were taught assembly that I realized that what I had been doing as a kid with softice had been assembly all along.

[zanny]

Count this as a "me too" comment. I played on the DOS terminal for years, wired together old machines into LANs and did hex editing of WoW binaries when I was 12 without realizing how close to hacking that was.

I heard about Python / C++ / etc, but didn't try "diving in" until college with CS1. Basically, IT knowledge instead of CS knowledge.

I can't help but feel that anyone that is <22 right now is getting a radically different introduction to hacking than those who are >=22. The <22 grew up on GUI in the Windows monopoly, and probably never needed to dig in to computers to get things "working" as much as the elders did, which would actually introduce them to CS much earlier.

[ruswick]

I feel somewhat the same. I'm 16 and have only been doing this for 2 years. I know several people my age who have been doing this much longer and who have had way more monetary success in doing so.

I'd say I have a decent amount of talent, and spend probably 75% of my waking hours increasing said talent, but I still feel sort of late. I often lie awake wondering if I'm already behind in my career.

[theatraine]

Personally, my aptitude was unexpressed until college. It was first-year computer programming (standard in Canadian engineering schools) that opened my eyes. Prior to this, I never really had the desire to program anything because no one had told me how fun it was. It was not encouraged by my parents (who didn't even own a computer for the longest time) or my teachers both of which did not know the first about programming or why you would ever want to do it.

I certainly think that the "talent shortage" could be reduced by making computer science mandatory in high school, or at least on equal footing with other sciences such as biology or physics.