On: Have you ever asked yourself “how did research get done before LateX?”

[BiteCode_dev]

I always wondered the opposite: how do researchers can get any work done when they have to formalize it using LateX?

I've tried writting a book using LateX, and it's been nothing but a miserable experience. I'm been coding for 15 years, and tweaking my Linux machine for longer. I know what it means to face rought edges.

But LaTeX is another level of shenanigans.

I seem to understand that researchers use latex because of the seemingless formula integration and automation of references.

Well, why not use asciidoc (https://asciidoctor.org/docs/user-manual/#mathematical-expre...) or myst (https://myst-parser.readthedocs.io/en/latest/using/syntax.ht...) then? They are an order of magnitude easier to use, they can generate websites and pdf, use markdown but allow extensions, they support references, and accept latex formulas.

Is it a case of "everybody uses it so I have to"?

[ergl → BiteCode_dev]

Network effects have a lot to do with it. Conferences will give you style files that only work with Latex, and some require the .tex sources when you submit your article.