As a kid, it took me a long time to learn to program because I was constantly fighting the very things that this article brings up. You can chalk it up to youthful arrogance. When I dropped my attitude and realized how wrong I was (around age 17, when many kids finally do this) I finally became a good programmer. I tried for nearly five years as a kid, but my naievete got in the way.<p>Programming requires a nearly dogmatic adherence to methodology, logic, and best practices, to be done well. What the article describes as unfriendly towards beginners, is really just an attempt to bestow upon beginners a <i>thought process</i> that needs to be instilled to be successful.