I think part of the fascination with wunderkind programmers, is that it reinforces the idea that people have innate talent, something that can be comforting to those who lack it. It’s similar to the fascination with lottery winners. Most people understand that building wealth tends to happen over decades from reasonable learned habits, but the fantasy of sudden, unearned wealth is more fun. Child geniuses are the fantasy of being good at something without putting in the work.