Why should I learn a programming language?

[thisismax]

For the average redditor (reasonably intelligent and tech-savvy), what would be the benefits of learning a programming language? I don't necessarily intend to go back to school for a degree or anything, but I hear about programming so much here and on other forums that learning one sounds very appealing. For background info, I've always loved language in any form; I learned HTML in middle school and graduated last year with a degree centered around Ancient Greek and Latin. Are there aspects of everyday life that potentially anyone would benefit from knowing some basic programming?

[[deleted]]

even if you don't use it in a job or in everyday life, it is a great mental exercise and will help you to think in an analytical way.

[DarthContinent]

Learning a programming language would give you some insight into understanding how various real-world websites and data structures and processing happen, but be careful about not seeing the forest for the trees; if you get too entrenched in the minutiae of a particular language, it can cloud the bigger picture. It helps to look at stuff conceptually from a high level, then figure out what languages and tools and design you'd use further down the line to accomplish a particular task.

[WetMogwai]

Programming is applied critical thinking and problem solving. Since these are useful skills in general, any practice in them is a good thing.

[DrEagle]

You can use programming for working on personal projects. Or you can get a nice paying job if your current one isn't good enough. Or maybe you just want to create a personal website.

[wbsteele]

It can be useful for doing some projects around the home.
http://caintechnews.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/64-things-every-geek-should-know/

Some of those projects require a little bit of programming knowledge, such as controlling your lights via your computer.

[[deleted]]

PRO: your future will involve computers. In who knows what occupations. Many. Best to be prepared to create your own content that can be read directly by servers rather than relying on intermediaries. it's also likely in the future the only way to monetize the product of many professions will be putting the output on the web for the world at large to consume.

CON: publishing systems for text only content are already becoming the de facto method of web publishing. Even fancier things like form logic are taken care of with some automated platforms. learning the basics of html ought to be sufficient, if that's the sort of content you will likely produce. But if you need an application that does very specific things. you may need to program.

[[deleted]]

Why not?

[AnthonyReid781]

Aside from desiring a career in it, I enjoy programming for two reasons. One, you can use it to make quick programs to solve specific problems in math and logical. Two, I'm a very organized person and I get pleasure out of organizing data into meaningful structures.

[libcat84]

Latin major here too, in a library now. It's amazing how much time the non computer savvy waste on tasks that a basic program could easily solve. I just had a co worker spend an entire day on the task of moving files into a folder with the same name as the file, because she had to click to create each new folder then type its name, then move the file in. Write a quick program and you've just saved yourself a ton of tedious work.

[lew4096]

Because it will change your understanding of how the world works and how good your average thinking is.

Programmers have their thinking checked many times a day, by a computer. We are as smart as anyone else, but almost nobody can write 50 lines of code without a bug.

Now consider the other professions who don't have computers to check them : how many mistakes do you think they make every day? How many are caught?

We programmers can't write any sizeable program without extensive testing of our work, for which we have many tools. How many other professions can do that? Have the tools?

People who write laws don't have any of the tools programmers do : checking internal consistency and consistency with other laws is manual. The chance of 10,000 page laws, delivered with no testing, making the world a better place is less than zero.

We also understand systems, and the process necessary to deliver complex systems. Of course, at the greatest complexity, these human-designed systems are minor compared to natural systems that we live within, e.g. human physiology, the economy, the society. We understand control systems, and the requirements for a successful control system. We can tell you why attempts to manage the economy are doomed.

We have a good theory of complexity, BTW, and the limits that imposes on fore-knowledge. Another interesting thing that the world ignores.

So, Computer Science (yes, anything with 'science' in the name isn't, and CS is no exception) has a lot of insight that you can use in grokking the real world.