I found this quote on the Udacity website and I found it pretty interesting.
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"Being able to program provides personal empowerment.
Twenty years ago, Steve Jobs famously talking about computers as bicycles for the mind. Today, computers are far more powerful and connected worldwide --- super-tanker-sized hypersonic spaceships of the mind. Without learning to program, you can still ride them if you are willing to remove your shoes at the security checkpoint and go where the pilot wants to go, but if you want to be the one flying you need to learn about programming."
http://www.udacity.com/