Well, to be fair, I don't think "Anyone can code" is an identical statement to "Programming is easy." Programming involves having a purpose and understanding t

Well, to be fair, I don't think "Anyone can code" is an identical statement to "Programming is easy." Programming involves having a purpose and understanding the architecture and so on. Writing code isn't, per se, about all that. Kind of like saying "A five year old can learn to write." and someone having a cow about "A five year old cannot go from not knowing their alphabet to being an award-winning author overnight!" Well, okay, but that wasn't what was meant when someone said "Any five year old can learn to literally write." Programming is more of a big picture thing and that fact is largely unrelated to the simple fact that, yes, if you wish to write code for some reason, you actually can just look stuff up online. And I think for some people who are used to needing permission, socially, to do anything, it actually is a significant detail worth commenting on that You don't have to ask anyone or get permission to do the thing. You can just look stuff up and do the thing because you decided to do the thing. I know a little HTML and CSS, but I don't self identify as a programmer. I am self taught and it's useful because I blog and it's helpful for that domain, but, no, I still can't, say, write an indie game (an actual goal of mine). It is literally true that anyone can code by looking up stuff online and maybe for some people what they are kind of trying to say, to build on a metaphor used in this piece, is "You don't have to go talk to the head chef and fill out forms requisitioning eggs. Anyone can crack a couple of eggs and start cooking!" Which doesn't in any way imply that cracking a couple of eggs and frying them up makes you the equivalent of a trained chef in terms of the quality of your work, the complexity you can handle and other pertinent stuff (such as ability to manage a staff in a commercial kitchen).