Simple question - complicated answers

[alex]

I would have been very much satisfied if someone had anwered my simple
question with a
simple answer like:
"Look, you dummy, the simple answer is that the kernel doesn't exist as
an ordinary file
that can be edited like a document."  The thread would have ended there.

I still disagree with everyone who complained that my question was too
complicated to understand..

Anyway,, thanks for the ride.

alex