I'm quite biased, as I found it incredibly insulting throughout the article, as I myself dropped out of college.
I believe that college is a viable path with many benefits. I believe self taught is another viable path with many benefits.
I am a programmer, and I dislike an article saying that I am not because I chose to exit my university early and join the work force.
I found the tone pretty obnoxious as well. I dropped out, but I managed to find a job as a University research scientist for awhile. I have a strong love of theory, and probably have most of the same textbooks that many math majors would have as a result.
I will admit that the average graduate is smarter than the average dropout, but who the hell cares? There are plenty of smart autodidacts, and I feel like if you can learn a lot of the theory on your own without being forced to by a professor, that speaks well of your character.
The statement that you are not to call yourself a programmer, you haven't earned it, you're not a real programmer.
The justification against being self taught amounts to - 'well you can't work for NASA, and uh, something about learning to be a professional'? I found it particularly ironic that they pointing out how many big projects started in academia - and how many of the largest companies were started by dropouts?
The author acts as if they're exploring the idea, but it's not an exploration, it's an argument that they clearly already had made their mind up on.