Yes, because it's a literacy issue. By that I mean that learning something about programming is a prerequisite for such a wide range of things that you will be

Yes, because it's a literacy issue. By that I mean that learning something about programming is a prerequisite for such a wide range of things that you will be left in the dark without basic programming knowledge. Machines have been complex for a long time, far too complex for everyone to understand. But generally, even a novice can understand any one particular detail if they care to. Engines are complex, but you can quickly read up on the cycle it goes through, and get a vague understanding. Except how the valves are controlled, because now those are computer-controlled, so you must know how a computer works to understand. Before, you could have asked some questions and got an explanation about push rods or cams or something, and walked away feeling comfortable with that explanation. So programming has become a fundamental dependency to understanding a wide range of things