I think the point is that if she's already willing/able to dedicate herself to 12 weeks of unpaid time, and she's motivated, then that should be enough to teach herself off the internet. What these critics here don't get is that some very smart and talented people don't learn this way, or aren't confident enough that they could commit themselves to 3 months of unpaid, self-guided learning.
Naturally, as with all things HN, there is an insinuation that anyone who is incapable of doing things the way an intellectually-advanced-but-socially-deficient 17 y/o boy would, must not be intelligent.