Actually I don't think it's about experience, it's about willingness to read and attempt to comprehend a system. If a person doesn't want to try then yes this will be difficult for them; it needs effort.
I did exactly that. It wasn't very helpful. One of the things that would bring shell into the 21st century is a decent discovery mechanism for new users. Learning shell by immersion in the oral history of *nix just isn't a scalable way to teach. No matter how enjoyable.
