python+pandas [1] is probably quite an easy choice for most common things people would use excel for. And being in the python ecosystem offers lots of libraries for statistics, machine learning, signal analysis, plotting etc.
People like real time feedback it's why word is more popular than tex, all these tech folks pushing code solutions to wysiwyg software issues are missing the point.
I use LibreOffice Calc for most of my work. It works just fine.
The question I have is not about using spreadsheets, but why Excel? It takes way too long to load and the UI gets worse with every iteration. Most people don’t even use 99% of the features in Excel (Find and Replace amazes some people). It is headed on the same trajectory as the abomination of diagramming software known as Visio.
And what are the alternative's silent pitfalls, areas of common misunderstanding et al? Replacing a tool because it is not used properly is just asking to receive another tool to be misused.
