I understand the difference pretty clearly, actually. No need to be a condescending little man. A separate ground path is provided, because if you combine ground and neutral, any break in the neutral will cause normally grounded parts to go HOT.
You’d have the following situation.
H->LOAD->N->human->ground — the neutral/grounded side would be connected to hot through the load, but not tied to ground (0V). Since the load generally has a lower impedance than the human body, you’d have close to 120V across any grounded human that is unfortunate enough to touch the casing.
If it’s combined in the appliance, any break in the cord’s neutral conductor would have this result. If it’s combined in the outlet, any break in the neutral conductor leading to the outlet would have the same result.
Separating neutral and ground at the main breaker box is done for LIFE SAFETY, not for the power company’s safety.
