Unironically yes. Plenty of millennials I know learned how to program on their TI-83.

It's not about the calculator. I don't even know how to use one beyond basics. Similiar like luxury watches. I can't even read the time. It's about the craftsmanship .

It's a reliable piece of equipment you can ask 2+2 and get 4 every time, unlike the modern LLM that will give you a story about why it's actually five.

buttons ? knobs ? we are fascinated by machines. It's curiosity about the inner workings of the machine and fascination by the mistery of the closed box. you can observe that in certain kids