The spreadsheet was a major move forward for unlocking creative potential. A part of that probably brought us the financial crysis of 2007-2008, but nobody can complain that it wasn't creative :p
Columns are nice but without functions they don't really rise to the level of arrays. And the UI for Excel functions is probably one of the worst interfaces for functions we have.
Also Excel clouds the ergonomics of the lists and functions by duplicating common functionality in bespoke UI and littering it everywhere so it's not a very natural path from using a function through the UI to using it in another function.
Also Excel columns add weird semantics by putting every column in the same rowspace.
Also arrays have names. Columns are usually just numbered.
In other words: yes, spreadsheets are the most useful end-user programming tool we have, but it has so much extra junk layered on top of it it's nigh unlearnable. And it's not a starting point, it's a dead end. An EUP environment built on a spreadsheet is a car built from horse parts.
A well designed array UI would have the semantics of an actual modern array. Push, pop, each, etc. A well designed function UI the same. And both need to be presented clearly without distraction to count as a "good UI" in my book.
The spreadsheet was a major move forward for unlocking creative potential. A part of that probably brought us the financial crysis of 2007-2008, but nobody can complain that it wasn't creative :p