[ksec]

I don't think people understand how abstracted most modern developers in today's world are.

If learning Piano was an example then everyone would have like you said learn the basic of everything and then build up on it. Modern day people learn multiple different chords and somehow string them together. If you do EE you have have learned how the piano works before you start playing the piano.

Worth remembering most people in programming today start with Javascript / Python or Ruby.

[pjmlp]

At least Python can be as complex as C++, it is a matter of actually bothering to go through all major manuals in https://docs.python.org/3.

Those languages are hardly more abstract than learning Lisp or Prolog back in the day, other than (with exception of JavaScript) finally embracing dynamic compilers.

It boils down to how much one actually cares to learn and is curious to improve themselves.

[TZubiri]

There's amateur and outsider musicians for sure, I've seen them. They learn by hearing, usually listen to pop or rock, not classically trained.

More common with guitar than piano though.

Similarly they are most popular with Javascript than with C