how ignorant are you?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Ok smartass, tell him how a starter on an engine works...

even tho my Uncle ran a dealership's body shop for 20 years and explained it to me probably 20 times

I think that is what's confusing him. Of the zillion uses for a solenoid, the starter solenoid on a car is the one that replicates a switch.
OK, the starter needs lots of amperage so the cable(wire) from the battery to the starter is huge and kept as short a possible to minimize resistance losses. Therefore the switch is down between the battery and starter and you can't reach it, in fact you'd have to get out and open the hood then reach way down in the grimey bits to flip the switch.
More gooder to park your butt behind the wheel and let the solenoid flip the switch for you. Yeah, the solenoid is electrically operated but that's a little bitty wire that can be as long as you want. OK?