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by j_baker
4204 days ago
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This article is built on a fundamentally invalid premise: > 30-60% of CS college majors have failed their Introduction to Computer Science course because they simply could not learn to program. This "You either have it or you don't" mindset is strikingly elitist. I simply don't buy the idea that there are people out there who absolutely cannot learn to program. I mean, put someone on a desert island and tell them they can't leave until they can write a program that uses a linked list, and I'm pretty sure most people would be able to get off the island eventually. Of course, that doesn't mean that some people can learn to code more easily than others. But I'd be willing to posit that the vast majority of people could learn to code given enough time and the proper instruction. |
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There is a No True Scotsman argument that arives here "Well, if someone later became a programmer, despite failing those tests earlier, then clearly they were skilled at becoming a programmer" blah blah; but it is still an interesting phenomenon. And yes, there will be outliers, of course; and there will be people that gradually mull their brain to change the way it thinks; but, it is still an interesting phenomenon.
I bet we could see this in other fields, too, it's just that programming is presently the hotness.
(edit: added more)
As for elitism. What is elitist about it if that /is/ true? Oh no, Billy can't program, but he's great with cars. Sarah sucks at linked lists, but she has a better understanding of the human body than any of her peers in the ICU. And so on.