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I was a lot like your friend's 11-year-old when I was a kid. I loved games, and I loved clicking around to make custom content for games, but I didn't comprehen

I was a lot like your friend's 11-year-old when I was a kid. I loved games, and I loved clicking around to make custom content for games, but I didn't comprehend programming. My mother at one point even installed and booted up Visual Basic for me once and I just didn't get it. It wasn't until I was 16 or 17 before I actually started seriously getting into computing. I guess some kids are "late bloomers" and some just don't have the aptitude for it.

openknot 5y ago
16 or 17 still sounds pretty young. In the December 31, 2020 lecture for Harvard's introductory programming course (CS50), the lecturer explains that 2/3 of the class have never programmed before [0] (most enrolled students are 18-19 years old by then, assuming the number excludes non-Harvard undergraduates who are taking the course online). I started later, and I attribute it to my parents being low-tech, and online discourse framing programming as "really hard" and something you just do to find a steady job (versus make something useful). I bet I would have started a lot sooner if I had different influences growing up, but at least there's still time to learn now. [0] https://youtu.be/YoXxevp1WRQ?t=208 https://youtu.be/YoXxevp1WRQ?t=208