Programming is the world's "new way of working" says Gartner's Gregor Petri in a new blog post, so why is it so difficult to get people interested in the field?

Whether it's grade school students or career professionals, programming just can't seem to catch on. That, Petri says, isn't good. The world has moved beyond the days when simply knowing how to operate a computer was good enough to get most consumers and businesses by.

Knowing no more than how to operate a computer is a sure path to being replaced by automation, Petri argues. At the same time, enterprises that go for automation need folks who can make their fancy new automated systems work.

Those people are programmers, and they're in demand. Petri has some interesting ideas about why a field that's experiencing this kind of demand can also experience such a paucity of qualified applicants, especially at a time when programming has become more streamlined than it's ever been.

Maybe it's the hours. Maybe the personality traits and work habits that make successful programmers aren't in abundance among the majority of workers.

Petri's take is interesting and entertaining. Click here to check it out.