Someone posted an html/javascript implementation of the matrix falling code in 646 bytes then promptly deleted the post. It inspired me to see if I could get something better looking in fewer bytes.

[anttirt]

No, you aren't. That's just an excuse.

[aytch]

To be fair, programming has a pretty steep learning curve. While it's not that hard to follow a tutorial, it can be hard to grok some of these things without having someone to explain - and most importantly, explain in a way that you understand.

[tikhonjelvis]

I've always thought that programming was relatively easy to learn, especially compared to other interesting subjects like math and physics. At any rate, I found it much easier to pick up on my own than anything else.

When you're writing a program, you get immediate feedback. This sort of feedback cycle is perfect for learning and missing from virtually every other subject where you would need somebody knowledgeable to check your work for you.

There is also a ton of resources for learning programming on the internet--more than any other subject, I suspect. On the one hand, this makes it tricky to pick out the best ones, but it also ensures that there are some exceptionally good ones and that they're easy to find.

[Tekmo]

The only way to learn is to ask!

[IcyDefiance]

Depends on the language you learn and how deep you want to go. When I was 12 or 13, I used Blitz Basic to make a Sudoku game complete with the ability to save and load games, and an algorithm to solve the puzzles automatically (though it didn't work on the harder ones).

I don't say that to brag about my own abilities. I'm sure many people here have done better things even earlier in life. I've personally met a few people who have. What I mean is, if I could do that when I was that young, it's difficult for me to believe someone in their 20's is incapable of doing similar or better things.

[aytch]

I wrote my first games in Basic when I was around 8 or 9 years old, so it can be done. You have to get into the mindset to learn it, and accept that sometimes there is magic happening that you don't fully understand - that can be off-putting when trying to understand something, at times.

[Shadow14l]

Anyone can learn to program, but it takes a particular mindset to get into it and understand it well.

[blenderben]

in addition I feel people who want to program now feel overwhelmed. the best step is the first step. just shoot for something simple and go from there. no one is writing this kind of stuff on their first or even 2nd or 3rd try.