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The vast majority of the computer-using population, on a daily basis, has zero need for programming in order to use a computer. The same cannot be said for reading and writing.

They do, however, need to know how to use a computer. This is an argument for computer literacy, not computer programming literacy.

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If you can't make the computer do work for you, you're not really using it effectively. If you can only use programs others have written, you aren't really computer literate, you're just a monkey pushing a button. Computer programming literacy is the new reading. The vast majority of people who use computers now do need programming, they just don't realize it because they don't know they could be automating what they currently do manually.

Oh, and everyone who uses a computer should learn some basic shell scripting, it will make them vastly more productive regardless of their field of expertise.

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