It also expected that you have considerable earlier knowledge, just not on programming itself (For example, at least some exposure to calculus is expected, as that's what some early examples use).

The early lessons of SICP are more like teaching what's 2+2 in my opinion (substition model of function application, for example).

In terms of practicality of the content, honestly I'd say SICP was at least as bad as most intro lectures I've seen, and honestly should stay but be combined with something like companion labs with "battery included" builds to play with things.