I think that the main reason that this question comes up so often (only to have it's answers essentially ignored) is because, "How do I learn how to program?" i

I think that the main reason that this question comes up so often (only to have it's answers essentially ignored) is because, "How do I learn how to program?" isn't what they really want to know. Programming, in and of itself doesn't take much to learn. A person with average intelligence can learn the syntax and basic idea of a language in a day. I believe the question they really want an answer to is, "How do programs work?". If you really boil down the initial appeal of programming, it isn't Python/C/PHP/Ruby, it's learning how to make the things that those languages are associated with. People are fascinated by programs that can sync files between computers (dropbox/Python), share pictures on the internet (facebook/PHP), or cause your computer to run (Linux/C). I think the best way to help somebody with this question is to find out what it is about software that fascinates them, then suggest a language/framework that facilitates that.