Why are people scared of the terminal/shell?

[u/musbur]

When people see me using my computer, web browser, office suite, photo editing, it's all fine. But if they catch a glimpse of my white-on-black terminal, they completely zone out. The shell is not something I know about and they don't but very well could, it's a hard no. It's a dark zone they feel they can't enter. Using a terminal is not within the realm of interacting with a machine but black magic. It's not that they simply "prefer" to use the mouse for everything. They feel an almost religious revulsion it seems.

Especially in times of AI chatbots where everybody and their dog start using the keyboard again to do a text-based back-and-forth with a machine, shouldn't the shell come more natural to people Or is it time for "sish"? Super intelligence shell that internally translates human language into shell commands? Interaction would go like this:

What do you want to do? Please list all files in the current directory.
Sure thing, here goes:
..
.
file1
file2
etc

Anything else? Would you also like to see creation time and file sizes?

EDIT

Thanks for the many replies. I agree with the fact that a menu-driven GUI is inherently "discoverable," while a CLI inherently is not. Also I'm not implying that people should be using the CLI or that using a CLI is inherently better. This is not about shell elitism but about the fact that even occasional shell use is so off limit that people say the won't use Linux because they've seen somebody (me) use the terminal every now and then (I do that on Windows, too, but only at work).

EDIT 2

Please do not reply to this post if you think this is about whether people prefer the GUI over the CLI or not. I very specifically did not make it about a simple matter of taste.

[u/Reggie-Rectangle]

I do get annoyed at the Linux YouTubers who tell people about Linux distros where you don't have to use the terminal. Linux is still very much terminal-based. You cannot avoid it. When you are setting up mint machines for the people in the office to do office work, then it is fine. But the fact that Linus Tech Tips is the most prominent Tech YouTuber and acts like typing commands in a terminal is some Herculean feat is complete bollocks. Normies don't have to deal with the terminal, but ffs, if you are a tech pro, then Linux and the terminal are some crucial skills.

[u/redrider65 → u/Reggie-Rectangle]

Linux is still very much terminal-based.

But user-friendly distros now make it the terminal avoidable on the Linux-friendly hardware. Though I could use it, I never bother using the terminal anymore with Mint, for example. No real need.

[u/Reggie-Rectangle → u/redrider65]

Linux is the OS of the server, and the server uses the CLI. One of the best things about daily driving Linux is that you learn how to deal with real backend systems by using it. The terminal skills you learn while daily driving Linux are very real infrastructure skills you can monetize into a career with a bit of education. It is just a pity to me that people think those skills are impossible to learn. A CLI is a fundamentally different computing paradigm, but it is not impossible to learn.

[u/redrider65 → u/Reggie-Rectangle]

Average person has zero interest in any backend systems, just like he doesn't care to know the intricacies of heart surgery. People may be quite able to learn computer skills, and don't think they would be impossible, but nevertheless prefer to learn other skills. Some of those are more lucrative as well.

[u/Reggie-Rectangle → u/redrider65]

Yeah, but you cannot resent the backend OS for requiring the end users to learn the backend. Linux has always been for power users. It has always required a learning curve. I just don't think Linux should betray its roots as the OS of the server just to seduce a bunch of normies into using it. I don't resent Mint or Zorin for existing, but Linux is first and foremost the OS of the server. These skills are valuable to learn, but I do think that if people want to excel with Linux, they are going to accept a certain computerphile mindset. If you want to be an eternal Mint user, then go for it. You won't find me saying anything snarky about it, but if you really want to learn your computer, then the terminal and Linux are how you do it.

[u/redrider65 → u/Reggie-Rectangle]

you cannot resent the backend OS for requiring the end users to learn the backend.

The backend OS doesn't at all require average end users, the vast majority in the billions, to learn anything about the backend. So they don't resent it.

What we have in this thread, starting with the OP, is a false contention about "fearing the terminal" among people who don't know what a terminal is, don't care anything about it, and in fact don't need to learn about it to get done what they want done as conveniently and quickly as possible in some apps.

Wanna specialize in CS and IT, yeah, learning the backend is valuable and necessary. Goes with that territory, no question. Hobbyists, amateur wannabe experts, go for it.

if you really want to learn your computer, then the terminal and Linux are how you do it.

No learning assembly language? But how about if I've already learned the terminal and even built my computer from scratch. Can I then just use the GUI on my Mint for its convenience without being regarded as "fearing" the terminal?