People of course give up on trying to grok complex programs like version control all the time, git included. (where "giving up" means just using the UI and tryi

People of course give up on trying to grok complex programs like version control all the time, git included. (where "giving up" means just using the UI and trying to derive meaning from the results with the minimal goal of achieving one task at a time). But in my experience, fewer people give up on understanding git internals than comparably complex program internals. I.e. the second layer of understanding is more accessible in git than in other software, where people often don't even start trying to understand the second layer, much less make real progress with that understanding. Edit: Sorry if I am talking past any of your points - I'm not familiar with the XKCD comic you referenced.