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I think the point is that the super hero meme is specifically targeting the group of people who are already aligned with much of your stereotypical "geek" cultu

I think the point is that the super hero meme is specifically targeting the group of people who are already aligned with much of your stereotypical "geek" culture. The difference is that nowadays there are so many avenues to take following this path that won't necessarily end up at programming. I think the point that cicero made here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2350004 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2350004 is crucial. There was a time where being "into" computers meant you inevitably became exposed to programming concepts and eventually dabbled in a bit of it. That's no longer the case. It's helpful to reach out to this group of potentials and show them how awesome it can be to bend the computer to your will. It's just a matter of speaking the language of the group you're trying to reach. I think the superhero metaphor is a good one.

Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
But that's my point - if you're going to reach out to a group of people who are currently outside the norm for computing, you might want to use metaphors and ideas that will resonate with them, not the idea of superheroes which is frankly one which resonates with pretty much the same people who are already attracted to the industry. We absolutely should be selling the industry and the career - the best teams I've worked in have always been diverse (in pretty much every respect) but you're not going to do that with this sort of pitch.