President Obama calls on every American to learn code

Totally disagree. Let's assume you're just talking about HTML/CSS, as Javascript is clearly a programming language. Many fundamental concepts that you would learn by understanding HTML and CSS are also foundational in programming languages. You have to understand abstraction, and the use of textual markers to represent those abstractions. HTML attributes are pretty similar to parameters in functions and the tag names would be like function labels. With just learning markup you discover the power of using text to represent things and how the computer/browser can interpret that data to actually do stuff.

Of course there is plenty of things missing, loops and conditionals, state management, functions as data, etc. but 1) if you're teaching how to build a web page properly you will be covering javascript and these concepts and 2) even if you don't cover Javascript just learning html/css is still a start towards those other concetps. I've recently started teaching high schoolers how to code and it's amazing the sort of fundamental concepts you completely take for granted as a developer that these kids have simply never been exposed to. These are the low hanging fruit that you're assuming is not important.

Also, embedded systems are becoming increasingly cheaper to develop with, Raspberry Pi's and Arduino's cost $25 and that space is also becoming more and more open. There is a long way to go but it's certainly happening.

Finally, of course computers and internet connections cost money but these are things that people acquire regardless of whether they want to learn how to code or not. I'm not naive enough to say everyone has easy access to these things even in affluent countries, but they are goods that are acquired for many more reasons then just learning how to code. The idea that it's free and more accessible comes from that aspect, that the same tools you use everyday to browse Facebook or do a Google search are all you need to become proficient at coding. Most other engineering disciplines have higher barriers to entry then that.

At one point, the general mgr of our office, said that these things were so valuable to everyone, and I was so good at it and seemed to enjoy it so much, that he was wondering if it wouldn't make more sense for him to take me off of my own consulting cases and make IT projects my only case. Of course, IT people were thought of as lowly support staff for the elite consultants, so it would mean a pay cut and end my consulting career. This wasn't a warning; he was just thinking that this might better serve the needs of the firm.

That day I stopped being a valuable IT resource for my coworkers and reserved my dev skills for my giving myself a "sustainable competitive advantage" in my own work on my own cases.

Programming was introduced to me in school and was the most boring subject of all. Because the problems we solved looked totally irrelevant to not just me, but every kid in the school. I was glad I opted out of it and did physics experiments instead. It made whole lot sense. Had I continued working on brain dead sorting, and arithmetic problems I would have developed permanent hatred towards programming. I was already learning simultaneous equations, quadratic equations in the Math classes without understanding why and what they even meant. Why learn another such subject?

Physics was a place where I saw application of pure mathematics to real life scenarios.

Skills that you need to be a good programmer by and large the very same that you need to indulge in any creative activity. Clear definition of the problem, deconstructing it into smaller parts, apply a definite science in assembling smaller solutions, going into a build-feedback-correct cycle etc. You will have to do the same if you do physics, chemistry, biology, math, painting, music, history and may be anything on earth.

Programming doesn't make much sense unless there is a larger context and scope of your learning in helping solve some meaningful problems gets visible. Other wise the kids will just be doing yet another routine boring math kind of work without knowing its true application.

Remember kids building tree houses, That requires nearly the same kind of stuff required to be good programmer, or to take part in a science exhibition. Or a essay writing competition. What is important is to teach kids learn to discover how to work on creative problems.

On YouTube, what you'll see is a swirling vortex of stupidity from which even light itself cannot escape. YouTube comments barely even break a kindergarten reading level and represent some of the most acidic vomit society can produce. It's like a kind of caustic acid bath, which, in the same way bulimia will destory a person's teeth, YouTube comments manifest as an erosion of intellect. This is a curious result, since Google has made great efforts to curtail obnoxious behavior on YouTube, but with little effect. It appears that the lowest common denominator on YouTube has no shame, and that even when a person's legal given name is exposed on YouTube, the quality of a person's comment remain as awful as ever. This is the context of thearn4's comment.

Meanwhile, here on HN, the tone of the arguments is different, and while there will always be an amount of social and political flamebait as ambient background noise, the discussion is not the same sort of bestial braying that you might find on YouTube. The reality, though, is that the best and brightest here at HN are wise to avoid any sort of non-technical discussion, especially when the topic is politically charged and emotional. In most respects, this is due to the phenomenon known as "bikeshedding" where you'll find that the easier it is to have an opinion, the more absurdly conflicting opinions will be found, and the more intractable the topic becomes. In this case, it's easy to have an opinion about Obama, and an opinion about how practical the generalized concept of "programming" is. Thus the thread becomes a dumping ground for everyone willing to share their 2 cents. Still, a dumping ground here on HN will produce higher quality well-sorted recyclable refuse, and not the fuming vat of toxic waste you might find on YouTube.

As for the trends in this particular thread, many seem to touch on some key premises:

1. In order to develop a useful appreciation of modern computing, the learning curve of today's state of technology demands a degree of immersive dedication that will rebuke most ordinary people. In some ways this might seem like a jaded, pessimistic outlook, but many are speaking based on personal experience, and not a desire to exclude.

2. The reality of computing as a career choice is a pockmarked mine field, peppered with unique absurdities not found in other fields. The industry surrounding the production and sale of modern computing devices and related services is an active war zone, with fluid and rapid changing fronts. Conflicting interests consistently hatch plans to sabotage one another, and raise the costs to enter the field. This detail is not lost on the HN audience, and contributes to the tone of pessimism.

3. While teaching and learning are admirable aspirations, and no one will dispute that, one cannot easily dismiss certain realities of modern computing history, most importantly that there are major forces at play in this field, with deliberate designs to disinform and disenfranchise end-users of the basic functionality of the devices they may purchase, with the deliberate goal of enriching corporate profit margins. This behavior is exclusionary, regardless of any claims otherwise, and is a hotly debated and emotionally charged political topic. The very topic this video might (perhaps naively) approach. The topic of free open source software.

4. While educators will champion access to computer science education, large business will assuredly attempt to mutate the nature and success of freely available education materials, wherever any ideas presented by such education might come into conflict with a company's business model.

5. Already aware of these premises, differing factions of the HN audience will present opposing narratives for why computer science education will prove impractical and ultimately fruitless. One side will postulate thatsuch educational initiatives will be watered down in the interest of preserving the status quo, and that large companies have a vested interest in preventing certain patterns of learning (conspiracy theories of corrupted industry leadership). Another side will claim that no one wants this education, no one will be good at it, that the majority of people are not a good fit, and that most people are too stupid to learn anyway so why bother (blaming end-users for their own ignorance when most are deliberately misinformed).

6. Both factions cling tightly to a certain kernel of truth in each argument. On the one hand, manufacturers of modern proprietary computing devices have a long and storied history of denying their paying customers of certain hardware and software privileges, solely for the purposes of producing exorbitant profits. Onthe other hand, the rabid stupidity found in a typical sample of YouTube comments is not to be dismissed. Many, MANY people out there are pants-on-head retarded, and they're giving these people computers. Why, god? Why?

7. A third faction continues to express an incensed vitriolic indignation over the Snowden leak. This carries it's own geopolitical context with unique peculiarties which are off-topic with respect to the premise of education, but will continue to haunt anything involving President Obama, The Internet, and American interests therein. Comments pertaining to government attitudes regarding cryptography are relevant to this branch of conversation, and tangentially relate to what industry insiders might not want people to learn about.

8. Healthcare.gov is a buffoonish albatross, blah blah blah... so what. Less distinguished people claim this as an indicator of the potential for competance in any state-sponsored endeavor, and chase their tails about parading any victory they can find, this is where HN starts to go off the rails, and lower order opinions start to emerge. Best to ignore them.

To properly define the term "bikeshedding", see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law_of_Trivialit...

For a distilled digest of some of the types of apolitical technical threads that tend to attract a more distinguished intelligent discussion here on HN, and sidestep emotional exchanges, see: https://lobste.rs

I don't think HN comments are similarly shameful to YouTube. I think there is a night-and-day difference. Hopefully this will lend context to some of the discussion you see here.