Right. Long ago a group of Oxford physicists with no computing experience were baffled by "LET X=X+1", which the demonstrator failed to explain in terms of a storage model.

Orwell (Haskell predecessor) was used later at Oxford, and I think ML at the other university. "Preparing to study Computer Science at Cambridge" once said "Teaching yourself to program can lead to your picking up bad habits that will hinder your progress later. In particular, you should avoid languages like C++."