My Philosophy On The Use Of Spreadsheet Tools

Spreadsheets are great tools. As much as computers have transformed the way we work (and play to some extent) the spreadsheet has been as important to transform the way the technical professional works. Many professionals use spreadsheets to do things that were once extremely time consuming. When I went to University in the early 1980s, we did plotting, data analysis, statistics and regression by hand or with the use of calculators. It took a long time and was easy to make mistakes, which then would require the calculation or plot to be re-done. By the time I started working in the mid 1980s, personal computers were making their way into the office and spreadsheets arrived shortly thereafter. First was Lotus 1-2-3, which was ground breaking, but eventually Excel became the standard. 

Good old Lotus 1-2-3