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I think you can break it down further into four groups. People who, when presented with FizzBuzz on their first day of learning programming would: (1) Not even

I think you can break it down further into four groups. People who, when presented with FizzBuzz on their first day of learning programming would: (1) Not even try, because it's "too confusing." (c. 90% of the population). (2) Be able to finish only with significant assistance from others. (3) Be able to finish on their own through trial and error. (4) Finish quickly, and wonder why they were asked to solve such a boring problem. Note that programming ability is a function of interest in the subject as well as intelligence. I'd say that most people who go into programming are somewhere between groups 2 and 3, while most who end up being successful at it in the long term are somewhere between groups 3 and 4.

lampe3 12y ago
so lets say if i solve fizzbuzz quickly iam clever. i have solved it but in a shitty confusing way but i have solved it. but someone who solves it through trial and error and learns new stuff about what can go wrong and how it works is not so clever? coding is always trail and error because you cant think of all the possibilities and through error you learn and become better so yeah give me more of 3 then of 4
- Lawtonfogle 12y ago
  Because the fast solver has moved on to a harder problem and is learning more complex new stuff.
  - lampe3 12y ago
    no the fast solver has solved the problem and is doing nothing ;)
Kluny 12y ago
Group 1 will never be programmers, group 2 is where I fell the first time I tried it. Group 3 probably have some training and group 4 probably have some programming related experience, or maybe they are superheroes. At any rate, anyone in groups 2-4 can become excellent programmers if they apply themselves and get the help they need. They can be plotted on a programmer competency bell-curve. Group 1 are the people who will never learn to code because they refuse to try. They probably make up the first hump of the perceived bi-modal competency graph. But they were never really in the running at all. I can think of at least 2 people in my 30-person cohort in college who did not know how to code, and would fall in the first hump of a bi-modal competency graph, despite having passed 2 years of programming courses. So my theory is that the second hump is a normal bell curve, and the first hump is people who won't try.

lampe3 12y ago

so lets say if i solve fizzbuzz quickly iam clever. i have solved it but in a shitty confusing way but i have solved it. but someone who solves it through trial and error and learns new stuff about what can go wrong and how it works is not so clever? coding is always trail and error because you cant think of all the possibilities and through error you learn and become better so yeah give me more of 3 then of 4

Lawtonfogle 12y ago
Because the fast solver has moved on to a harder problem and is learning more complex new stuff.
- lampe3 12y ago
  no the fast solver has solved the problem and is doing nothing ;)

Kluny 12y ago

Group 1 will never be programmers, group 2 is where I fell the first time I tried it. Group 3 probably have some training and group 4 probably have some programming related experience, or maybe they are superheroes. At any rate, anyone in groups 2-4 can become excellent programmers if they apply themselves and get the help they need. They can be plotted on a programmer competency bell-curve. Group 1 are the people who will never learn to code because they refuse to try. They probably make up the first hump of the perceived bi-modal competency graph. But they were never really in the running at all. I can think of at least 2 people in my 30-person cohort in college who did not know how to code, and would fall in the first hump of a bi-modal competency graph, despite having passed 2 years of programming courses. So my theory is that the second hump is a normal bell curve, and the first hump is people who won't try.