A wise person once said that when the guts are intact and healthy, the body may stand strong. While this person was probably not talking about computers per se, this advice is extremely useful when it comes to the operation of an operating system that can be counted on to actually work. Of course, people expect that a computer’s (as well as a network’s) operating system will never let them down, no matter what kind of work load they may pile onto it. And while this is a noble sentiment, it all has to begin with having a file system inside of the computer which can work easily, and thus reliably. Having clear delineations between files and clear organizational paths where files may be found are great cornerstones of having this reliable file system in place.
After all, if your files can easily be confused with other file types (even by the system itself) then you will have a horrific time trying to accomplish anything. It would be rather like trying to decide whether something is an apple, an orange, or a sports car while you are trying to decide whether to eat or drive the thing which stands before you. If your computer has to struggle to be able to know the difference between two different file types that may have completely different functions (such as the difference between a Word document and an MP3), the work you do will quickly start to resemble something that they usually only practice at Guantanamo.
In addition to having great clarity to your file types themselves, being able to find them easily is another hallmark of a reliable internal file system. The folder system which is very common nowadays is a great way to envision the kind of structure which works well for most systems. If the structure were less intuitive, or more complex, computers would use a lot more processor power trying to just find files.