I think these things need to exist in balance so that new users who are fleeing macOS and Windows have GUIs and programs to interact with to make managing the system easier for them at first. Leaving the terminal based methods for those with weirder/simpler tastes. As I am a mixed style user: I prefer the terminal for most things but GUI for other tasks.

I don't think his set-up is in any way negating the push for creating GUIs and programs used to interact with the system, but it does showcase the peculiar tastes of some Linux users. Highlighting the strength of Linux distros as a whole: It can do both and do it reasonably well. Though most nerds need to be reminded to implement GUIs so that new people can gradually learn Linux. As creating a safety net, promotes a calmer user experience for those learning enough to get by and understand instructions when they need to fix the rare weird issue.