Well said. I used to work in a music store and would see people come in and want to spend thousands on gear without even knowing it's something they really wanted to do. I would always recommend getting a student level guitar and taking some lessons to see if it's their thing first, same can be said for camera gear, I started out with a kit from Costco way back when and steadily improved my gear as I went. I also know a lot of people who did the same and barely pulled the camera out of the box and left it to collect dust in a closet ever since.
Of course if one wants to spend thousands on camera gear - just because - and they don't care to learn it that is certainly their prerogative, just seems like such a waste and you're right that it won't make much of a difference if they don't understand it anyway.
You're 100% right that it's just the tool you use as it's an extension of you and your craft, I'll use whatever camera is best at the moment whether it's my iPhone or my Sony depending on the subject matter. While I love my Sony I still find myself using the older 20 megapixel Canon almost as much lately as well.
I really don't subscribe much to wars between brands, they all make really great cameras, even mobile devices. My focus is always on the subject, lighting and composition. I try to encourage anyone interested to just keep shooting no matter what they have, they'll eventually find their way into better gear if they're interested enough.
