You asked Why do people learn Computer Programming?

Well, we can search for the reasons in the same way as your examples:
Why learn farming when you live in the city?
If not before, after COVID, more and more people in the town I live, established their “gardens”. They grow lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries or at least parsley, basilica … on their balconies, in the pots, … And they need some basic knowledge of farming. Also when you know something about farming, you can shop for vegetables and fruits much more wisely … Of course, there is no need that everyone should have farming knowledge to the extent farmers have, but at least some basic facts …
Similar with “Why learn to swim if you live on land?”
Because it is fun, because you feel safer when you are near water (river, lake, sea …), because you grasp some feeling about the strength of the water, because swimming is very good for your health … And again – there is no need to be very proficient in swimming, to know different swimming styles …

Therefore, learning programming is “necessary for everyone”, because it is an effective way to develop computational thinking, because it is fun, because you are more well versed in using digital devices when you at least know some basic facts about their innerworkings, because you know why you should (or shouldn’t) be concerned about algorithmic based decisions (on the court, in the bank, in police …)

Hi Duncan, the recording is published now. You can find it embedded in the post above, at the link to the previous seminars, or on our YouTube channel.

It’s a good point and I think one that lots of people have different views on. What we try to do at the Raspberry Pi Foundation is to give opportunities to learn programming in a fun and engaging way so you can find out if you actually like it or not. You may not be going to be a programmer but you can be creative with all the tools and environments there are available. And there are lots of jobs, university courses etc that need a little bit of programming. What Mark is trying to do is to give a little bit of exposure to programming for those people who may not have thought it was for them – and they may get to like to do more!

Within the next two weeks. We’ll put the word out on our social channels when we’ve published it, so keep an eye out.

Why learn farming when you live in the city? Why learn to swim if you live on land? Why learn coding if all you do is use other people’s apps on your smartphone?

I do not argue its importance. I argue that there’s lack of motivation. And I’m afraid current practice does not help since students are encouraged to use pre-existing libraries, instead of encouraged to build their own.