Please, don't learn to code, learn how to model solutions to problems. Code and programming are just tools for solving these problems.
If somebody comes to you with a problem and the first thing you say is "Oh, yes, of course, just let me start coding." then something is probably going to go wrong with your project. Understand what the problem is, build a model, show it to the person asking, most of the time this person doesn't really know what he wants.
You are all misunderstanding Atwood's article. Think about this: a variable in a programming language isn't really a variable, it's a name for a certain space in memory. Variables exist only in mathematical logic. Mind blown.
Now I begin to understand why Canonical made those recent changes. The Ubuntu part of it seems kinda slow, but smartphones are going to get faster. [1]
Coincidentally, it's the other way around with USB dead drops.[1] Either trust that the USB won't fry your motherboard or carry a multimeter with you all the time.