Spreadsheets Are a Siren Song: Why I Avoid Them
My Rules for Using Spreadsheets
Dr. Drang explains his fundamental rule for spreadsheets: don't use them. Drawing on years of analyzing data sets sent as Excel files, he argues that spreadsheets encourage poor organization and errors as they grow. He demonstrates how Python, Pandas, and SQLite handle a 2-million-row dataset that exceeds Excel's row limit, and contrasts these tools with spreadsheet pivot tables.
The simplicity of the typical click-and-drag method of assembling a spreadsheet encouraged poor organization and errors as the spreadsheets grew or were adapted to new data.