That is, non trivial to try.
I don't think it's unreasonable to say that there's friction involved in finding what you need, finding it, waiting for a download and then going through an install process which might require admin privileges.
No one said anything about it being difficult or hard to figure out, just that some curious minds who might have started playing around in the REPL will might now pass on the opportunity and miss out on the fun, and that's a pity for them.
This is a valid point. The difference though these days is finding the REPL would likely trigger a google search anyway since the internet is so ubiquitous. Developing nations would of course be an exception to this though I guess.
My first introduction to programming was typing code from the C64 manual into my C64. It's a shame they don't include a self contained learn to program environment into modern operating systems.
As a kid, I got a lot of mileage of whatever our computers came pre-installed with and I don't think it's a bad idea to bundle a scripting language with the machine, simply to have something to tinker and play with without the need to download anything.
> If you can't figure out how to click next next next then you have no business trying to learn python yet.
This is rude IMO. Who are you to tell people if they have "no business" to learn something?! This is the kind of gatekeeping that keeps curious newcomers out of tech.
Yes, I knew how to click 'next next next'. Everybody does. That just doesn't have anything to do with learning about computers though - going to a website and downloading a package is not and should not be a prerequisite for learning to code.
Why is going out and finding a python package, downloading it, and clicking 'next next next' a prerequisite for someone to learn coding? I could suggest as well that if you think you need to do that, then you're definitely not ready to learn to code! (Though I would never, because that's silly gatekeeping). Certainly these days you can use a browser to code anyway, without downloading packages at all!
So why is it such a requirement that someone click 'next next next' in order to learn? What if they don't want to? Why is that so offensive that you think they can't learn to code?
Someone growing up in that environment would surely be less likely to experiment with cooking for themselves than someone living Ina home with ingredients already in the kitchen.
That's not to say that going to the store would be an "insurmountable obstacle" for them, simply that the idea is no longer normalised and the barriet to entry is now non zero compared to "just start and see."