I had a Matlab programming class in my first year of a mechanical engineering degree. What was painfully obvious to me then was that the people with programming

I had a Matlab programming class in my first year of a mechanical engineering degree. What was painfully obvious to me then was that the people with programming experience (some of us had done some sort of computing or computer science course at school) excelled - I got 100% in the course, many of my friends got 95%+ (which in the UK, where 80% is considered excellent, is a very good mark). Many others really, really floundered. They had no clue what they were doing. I finished the task in about a 1/3 of the time, others were working right up to the deadline and ended up getting 50% or so. I'm not an excellent programmer. My skills might be above the average in mechanical engineering, but that really isn't saying much. I'd bet that double hump is less to do with some innate ability and more to do with exposure to programming at a younger age.