OK indeed "print the first K bytes of each file" would mean something like "print the first FEW kilobytes of each file," like "pluck the first K leaves off of each tree" naa... that would mean "pluck the first 1000 leaves off of each tree"
Anyways, the busy executive just glances at these quick reference man pages, so "K bytes" becomes "NUMBER K bytes" in his head rather easily. So best to avoid any dangerous confusions!
