People on this board have talked about programming as a gear in your brain that, to a first approximation, you have or you don't. I'm wondering if there's some well put-together resource you can direct someone with zero experience and just a web-browser to and say "if you're having fun an hour from now, you have the gear, good luck" -- maybe something on Khan academy?
(I learned to program a long time ago, and I started with BASIC program listings in my math textbook -- I don't actually know what the optimal onramps are now.)
http://pleasingfungus.com/Manufactoria/ perhaps?
Ah, found the paper. Doing a little more research...
Aha, found the test here. Ask someone nearby to give it to you, maybe?
Seconding Manufactoria.