The only thing a super complex formula is missing is the notion of a for loop. In lieu of that, I used to pull a column down as many times as the loop needed to run. Then I discovered macros, then I discovered javascript.
Some spreadsheet users discover programming and take to it, which is great. Others have the opposite reaction—writing scripts doesn't fit how they like to think or work. It sounds like you are the first kind of user; the ones I was thinking of are the latter.
