Git branches as labels into a DAG of edits maps exactly to what I think branches are. The difference between two branches is their respective edits from a common base. If you muck up a commit, you reset the pointer to the previous commit. If you muck that up, and accidentally reset too much, you can use your reflog to find out where you used to be on the DAG and reset the branch to that.

The transparency of the mechanism enables the user to be more powerful while knowing fewer concepts in total. The power of the system comes from the composition of simple parts.