Obviously I'm not saying that you absolutely _need_ to start young, but I suspect there's a very strong correlation between people who discover and stick at pro

Obviously I'm not saying that you absolutely _need_ to start young, but I suspect there's a very strong correlation between people who discover and stick at programming when they are young and those who are good at it. I also suspect that if you flex those particular muscles hard from a relatively early age, they will become stronger relative to someone who doesn't. The original author believes that programming requires a unique combination of skills/abilities which is why he is fond of it. If that's genuinely the case you're better off starting practicing that earlier than later, surely?