Learning programming is no different than learning to become an artist, a musician, an engineer, a mathematician, an athlete, etc.

Those things are all hard if you want to master them, but not everyone needs to be a master. I can draw, get great joy out of it and benefit from it without being Rembrandt. I can use vector math to make games and not dedicate my life to mathematics. This is also true for programming.

You really don't need to be smart to be a programmer, but if you want to be good at it you need to be smart enough and tenacious. Programming is just a tool to solve problems in the modern world.

The book "The Outliers" was what gave me the confidence that I was smart enough to be a programmer and achieve great things. All it took was a positive mental adjustment. This article is rubbish.