I think many non-technical people use their computers in a state of barely repressed panic - they are aware of how much 'magic' they just don't know. This is the only reason I have been able to discern to explain why otherwise intelligent people keep telling me "my computer's broken" and expecting me to tell them something useful; there is no chance they would go to a garage and say "my car's broken" without giving the mechanic some small clue about what had brought them there.
You can't win though; start asking questions and they get offended: "Can you see anything on the screen at all?" "YES, OF COURSE" "ah, ok, so what's the problem" "I CANT GET ON THE INTERNET" "I see, what happens?" "I DON'T KNOW THIS BOX POPS UP AND SAYS ERROR SOMETHING" "Ah, ok - what exactly does it say" "I DON'T KNOW I JUST CLICKED OK" etc.
Now, my wife is what we call 'emotionally intelligent' rather than 'academic'; it's taken her a year to really grasp the difference between Wifi and 3G. But she has switched between XP, Ubuntu, Android, iOS, XBMC etc, without anything like the moaning of far more 'intelligent' people who apparently can't cope with the transition from Windows 7 to 8 or Office 2003 to Office 2010 (I'm not talking about people who just don't like the changes, I might agree with them --- I'm talking about people who actually find it almost impossible to use the computer after such a change). But she's a level headed stoner who knows pretty much what she wants to do, and will "find a way to do it sooner or later without any bloody help from know-alls" And that is, I think, her advantage - other people are frightened to explore, use trial and error and make mistakes - she doesn't give a toss, so sooner or later she finds out what to do -- truly a case of XKCD 627.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
