I don't think I'm a programmer on your definition - I took two CS classes in undergrad (both in C++) and I have a working knowledge of R now that I'm in a stat grad program. I came to LessWrong when it started through OB, and I found OB through Marginal Revolution. At first, OB was "just another econ blog," but since I was a philosophy major at the time and had an interest in epistemology, OB really grabbed my interest.