The ill-conceived notion that parents giving children procedural instructions is somehow like programming brings me to a question for you as a teacher.<p>I&#x27;ve noticed that the industry really prides itself on algorithms and this is commonly reflected in interviews.<p>However, it seems to me that merely discussing algorithms, however clever they might be, is actually an intuitive human activity not unlike the example of the parent verbalizing procedural instructions to their child. Therefore, I would argue that algorithm design, though clearly an intellectual challenge in its own right, does not target the essential part that makes programming hard and inaccessible to so many people. (Disclaimer: a high-level algorithm discussion is usually followed by whiteboard coding, which I&#x27;m ignoring in this critique as a separate kind of activity).<p>Do you agree with this claim that algorithm design is not actually the thing that makes programming so difficult for laypeople? Can you give your take on what <i>does</i> make programming hard or what students struggle with the most?