What kind of person doesn't even try to learn computer programming?

Many people live in houses; few think they want to build one. Most of us use roads; but can we say what differentiates a good road design from a bad one? Can we sensibly critique (or recognize) the construction choices we see in a concrete example thats right in front of us?

There's the "well rounded person" argument that says you should at least have some idea what programming is and how the shape of that affects your life. But that's bound to cause misconceptions, because there's not an easy soundbite answer: "I'm in construction" could be wildly different depending on whether you're building roads or houses, and "I'm a programmer" is as different between "web front end" and the depths of embedded systems.

My guess is that a lot of casual programmers are like inventors. Not for everyone. To invent material devices means finding or making a lot of unusual physical parts. A computer language already has the parts. Like music, cars, math, painting, a working program either scratches the itch or it doesn't. Be careful of a program you could keep improving forever. Danger, Will Robinson!!

I'm guessing that you have a story to tell?

The kind that cuts your paycheck.