I was introduced to the basics of programming at 15 but it only really clicked at late 16. Before that I was really interested in electronics and aeronautics/fl

I was introduced to the basics of programming at 15 but it only really clicked at late 16. Before that I was really interested in electronics and aeronautics/fluid dynamics/aircraft design, but those all went into the backburner when programming came along. In particular, I got really into Robocode - see http://robowiki.net http://robowiki.net - the community is still active 10+ years later and the state of the art is still being pushed. I've ended up working as a software engineer in a related field (computer vision) and the lessons I learned from my early programming experience have given me a massive headstart in design, readability, maintenance and breadth of knowledge. I'd totally do it again given the choice, probably starting even younger.