"If someone told you that you really should learn the fundamentals of the internal combustion engine to own a car, you would tell them they were nuts."

I may not exactly tell him he's nuts, but I wouldn't waste my time learning it. I have only a theoretical knowledge of a four-stroke engine with no practical experience besides replacing a battery. (appy, I don't know that this knowledge has ever saved me a penny, but maybe I'm just not aware of it.) I couldn't tell you squat about any major systems besides the engine itself: steering, suspension, transmission, electrical system. Sure, I could learn it, but there are other things I'm interested in. I'm not a "gear head" and my car is strictly a tool for transportation. And yet somehow I'm able to OPERATE a car adequately and legally, and my wife drives better than I with less mechanical knowledge.

Isn't that all Joe Keyboard is looking for from his computer? For him, it's an appliance, not a hobby. Expecting him to edit a configuration file is like expecting him to get out a timing gun or set the gap on his spark plugs.