You're making a basic logical mistake, which is that the fact that someone didn't hack in middle school means that they wouldn't enjoy being a programmer. That's a logical hole that let's a lot of sexism through. It enshrines a status quo where we consider it acceptable to have dramatically fewer women in the profession simply because of gendered socialization at earlier stages of education.
I never stated that, or even implied it. I'm not the original person you were talking to though. I actually stated that just because you do something in middle school doesn't mean you'll be good at it later on (I'm not a good programmer, remember?).
I'm just saying you're missing the point. The point is, passion can't be taught, only encouraged. People hacking since middle school are probably passionate about it. That doesn't make them better than someone who became passionate in college, minus the decade head-start. It's not about teaching people to become programmers, it's about getting people interested in experimenting and learning on their own.
