"This is a simplification of this simplification, but its point is still valid, which is this: we did not naturally discover files and desktops hidden in machinery, instead we used the metaphors of an office to guide what computers could do and how we could understand them. But these business metaphors became a standard to build from, and this is why our current computerized world is one of files, folders, structures, lists, and protocols.
How different would our world be if computers had a different original customer base? What if they were originally made for the forestry service? So instead of desktops and files, we had forests and trees and instead of making sure our programs followed a standard protocol, we made sure our saplings had healthy root structures."