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by watertom 1784 days ago
Return on investment, essentially a zero barrier to entry, and immediate gratification, and it's wildly flexible.

It takes about 10 minutes to learn the basics a spreadsheet, and what you get back is immense.

You couldn't get python up in running in 10 minutes, then you need to learn the language, the syntax, and how to structure a program, frankly I'm tired just starting to type out what needs to happen even before you can do *ANYTHING*.

Some people can get YEARS of productivity from those first minutes with a spreadsheet. The return on that initial 10 minute investment justifies spending more time to learn the more esoterica aspects of a spreadsheet, but even then, most people don't want to be bothered with learning how to "program".

Why do so many people start playing guitar/piano/drums/etc, but so few finish? Because it requires a significant up front investment, no immediate gratification, and a long, slow return on that significant up front investment, learning music is somewhat flexible, but you need to be highly skilled in order to exploit the flexibility.