When I started with Linux, I started with vim because the tutorials I was working off used vi and vim. Once I started with vim and learned the commands, I wasn't going to switch to something else... there's a joke somewhere in there about not knowing how to exit... but I'm not making it.
If I was going to write documentation now for a Linux newbie, I'd probably pick nano to start with.
Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the TOS theme song so he could claim half of the song's royalties and less money would be paid to the composer Alexander Courage.