I actually do think the web is a good place to start, especially with a backend in python or ruby. You get to quickly see the results of what your doing, which

I actually do think the web is a good place to start, especially with a backend in python or ruby. You get to quickly see the results of what your doing, which will spur you to learn more. I definitely do not think that books, tutorials or classes are the way to learn programming at first. The thrill of discovering the concept of recursion on my own really hooked me onto coding. I remember googling "a function calling itself" semi-hoping that no one else knew about this yet... I did Neuroscience and BME undergrad, so I only had taken the 1 required class of Java (which I couldn't stand at the time, it was just too messy). I'm glad I didn't take more CS in college, it might have turned me off for good. Yes, once you get to where your fluent, I think classes (or books if your self-motivated) in algorithms, data structures and other hard CS are essential. But to get to that point, think of a creative project and try to build it, you'll really fall in love with the language you use, and you'll understand the real reason why people program: because it makes you feel like god.