I alsways explain it to new students as the shell being the equivalent of "under the hood" but for computers instead of cars. If you go to a car mechanic with e

I alsways explain it to new students as the shell being the equivalent of "under the hood" but for computers instead of cars. If you go to a car mechanic with engine problems and they won't even inspect under the hood, it's probably not a very good mechanic. (The last few years have not been too kind to this metaphor because of computer-based analytics, but still)