I wonder if anyone can learn from this. I feel like I only understood what I already knew, or at least was very close to knowing. That's the same thing that happens with teaching manuals about any topic: they're organized in a way that makes sense and it's easy for people who already know the topics, but often very bad at teaching the same topics to an audience that doesn't know anything.
I think that the reason for a manual existence. To have a written record so we don't have to trust our memory. This is what most unix manuals are. You already know what the software can do, you just need to remember the specificity on how to get something done.
> often very bad at teaching the same topics to an audience that doesn't know anything.
What you need then is a tutorial (beginner seeking to learn) or a guide (beginner/intermediate seeking to do). Manuals in this case only serve to have better questions (Now you know what you don't know).
When I was a kid I was trying to learn Linux and commands and it was disappointing.
Over the years of using it I don’t need to learn it but I do need to look stuff up.