Ask HN: Is it better to learn programming after teenage rebellion starts?

Some anecdata - I learned to code in my 20s and it took years of experience to start being more critical and recognize when to switch to new technologies.

IMO people should learn to program in college. Leave the teenage years for making mistakes and having experiences with people, not anti-socially typing at a computer.

As a truly aspiring programmer, you should start learning yesterday. The next best time is now, followed by ASAP.

All other considerations are irrelevant unless you can't spend 15 minutes a day to practice.

"Hackers" and "rebels" go well together.

The rebellion stage never ends for some people.

I guess I should have said you should wait to learn programming until you start rebelling.

> Wouldn't this make you more critical of what you are learning and better able to adapt to changing technologies in the long term?

Probably not. If anything, its probably better to learn programming before the teenage rebellion phase, or, at least, to learn the kind of problem solving skills that programming exercises early.