Is it possible to learn programming without going to a university or having a teacher?

In my opinion it is, and it's what I'm doing now.
I'm reading books, I learn because I enjoy it and there's no teacher/university pressuring me or making me learn what I don't want to learn, there are no deadlines or shit like that.

I am not interested in a job either.
So, what do you think? IMO that's the proper way to learn programming.
I'd go as far as saying it's the proper way to learn anything, but I wouldn't know that..

So what do you think? Why more people don't learn on their own?
I think it's the lack of interest & motivation.

discuss.

sure. i've learned a lot of stuff by myself.

> IMO that's the proper way to learn programming.

Me too.

In the past ten months I've finished several textbooks, a few dozen papers, and far too many online articles. I'm enjoying every moment of it; in fact I'm somewhat annoyed I'm not reading faster and doing more because there is so much to cover.

If you take undergrad seriously, you'll have a wide range of general knowledge on your vocation crammed into you in a short time. But that's just the beginning of a very long road.

The problem with university is scale: current pedagogy supports more students but provides little support for intrinsic motivation. The problem without university is... probably TV, by a wide margin.

I honestly advise self-learning without at least supplementing it with review from someone who knows their shit. It's very easy to fall into a trap of believing you understand something when you don't, or not fully.