Why you should learn to code

In today's world, computers are our new weapons. Whatever may be your profession, being able to use a computer for some reason or the other has become essential. Since computers have become such an inseparable part of us, I think knowing a little bit about how they work and how they can be made to works as per our wishes, is a key skill that can be very helpful at times.
I will try and explain what fascinates me the most about computers. I've always hated large numerical calculations, especially ones involving decimals. I always try to round off/ estimate or find some way to convert decimals to integers because I find them easier to work with. Computers work on just two whole numbers. 0 and 1, high or low, yes or no, black or white. There is no gray region and I think that's the best part! Isn't it amazing that the computer performs such amazingly complex calculations using just 2 numbers? You can breakdown the most complicated problems into such basic structures that they come down to a yes or no question. A branch is taken or not... a part of code is executed or skipped.
Its that simple. 
A computer program is simple logic that is broken down into such basic units that the computer is able to understand and process it. So, if you like logic, you will love coding!
Today, there are umpteen programming languages that have been simplified to the extent, they don't even look like programs. For example, in Python (a programming language) the line

print "Hello World"

will print "Hello world" on your screen.
Easy!
Learning any programming language helps you understand the basic structure of a program. This helps you get a basic idea about how a page could be designed, what logic could have been used to make a website work etc. 

Also, knowing to code equips you to build new solutions. If you have an idea to solve a problem, being able to code can help you develop the solution without having to spend money, convincing people to fund it, work on it etc. But for you to be able to get those ideas, you need to have a basic idea about how to code. There are new tools to build apps, games websites etc, that require no experience or expertise in actual coding. Simple drag and drop features let you have all the functionality you desire without actually having to know how to write code for it. But again, to be able to come up with such solutions and to use these tools, it always helps to know any one coding language. It lets you have a basic idea how the tool could be working behind the scene and this helps you while designing your product. 

Coding is not just a skill. It is an art. Once you get through the syntax and start being able to understand the code, you will start to enjoy reading it! Once you start to understand the logic, you will see how beautiful codes can be. But, to be able to see the logic, you will have to learn the syntax and the basics of how to code in that language. For this reason, learn to code!

 “I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” -Steve Jobs

A few links to get you started:

Tools:

• Scratch  - Helps you create games using drag drop programming. I had a lot of fun with it.
• Livecode  - Lets you build apps. You can use drag drop programming or write code based on your level of comfort.
• Alice - Lets you learn programming in a 3D environment.

Languages: 

• Python
• Perl

 Also, I suggest, you look at the tutorials on w3schools. They are simple and let you alter code and see results without having to download anything.

That's it. Happy coding! :D