Let's present a hypothetical situation here; say your car breaks down, and you have absolutely no idea what the problem is.
(Obviously, you're not a mechanic. If you happen to actually be a mechanic then just replace "car" with "tortoise" for the purpose of this exercise.)
Assume now that the car doesn't actually break down completely, it just degrades in some small way. Perhaps you have to twist the headlight knob a few times before the lights come on, or maybe the presets on your stereo reset every time you turn off the car. Nothing major, nothing you couldn't get used to, but annoying nonetheless.
Would you call a mechanic?
If you had a great deal of disposable income and an expensive car, perhaps. But many people would simply live with the problem, unless it became progressively worse. Most people, however, would call "that person".
You know the guy. The "friend" who "knows about cars". Perhaps it's a hobby of his. Perhaps he's simply more enthusiastic about cars than anyone around him. Nonetheless, he is considered by his less-educated peers to be an educated and enthusiastic amateur in the field of automechanics. More importantly, his services are normally free.
(No, I'm not talking about myself. Bear with me.)
So you call this friend of yours - the "Car Guy" - and have him come round to look at the problem. Naturally, he's more than happy to "Have a go at it," and fix up whatever little problem is slowly gnawing away at your motoring pleasure.
Of course, he doesn't actually fix the problem.
Nope.
He makes it worse.
And you end up having to take it to a professional (Or, possibly, another "friend") to actually fix.
Countless times I have had to clean up after some enthusiastic amateur. There's an old saying that "A little knowledge is just enough to make you dangerous." This is excruciatingly evident in the legions of enthusiastic would-be nerds clutching desperately at their Windows XP rescue disks, wondering why the sad looking box of scrap laid out in front of them simply won't start.
As you can imagine, cleaning it up gets a little frustrating.
