It's not cruel, it's just reality: some people have a natural aptitude for programming[1][2], while others don't. C is a small enough language and has a simple

It's not cruel, it's just reality: some people have a natural aptitude for programming[1][2], while others don't. C is a small enough language and has a simple enough programming model that it would be clear early on whether my kid had the natural aptitude that would justify focusing significant effort on learning programming as opposed to other worthy endeavors such as music playing or 4H club or learning another natural language. [1] http://www.ppig.org/papers/18th-dehnadi.pdf http://www.ppig.org/papers/18th-dehnadi.pdf [2] http://www.daimi.au.dk/~larsen/papers/mental_models.pdf http://www.daimi.au.dk/~larsen/papers/mental_models.pdf