I also found the tone pretty condescending, but I wasn't sure if that was a result of being translated from another language. I agree that both paths are viable.
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.