Again, “much” harder is quite the exaggeration. I mean, maybe for you, sure, but I’ve had plenty of time in the past 13 years to figure out where things are. If I’m ever genuinely searching for something I don’t scan the ribbon option by option, I use the search bar.

As far as “deciphering” pictures, there’s an association that builds over time. When I see the picture I make the association automatically. There’s research that shows people recognize pictures faster than they read words, since words all look visually similar and pictures have more cues to differentiate between them.

You are talking about the experience of someone who has learned the ribbon for a long time. Of course, if you always use the ribbon, it will be more familiar to you. Just like if you were taught Mandarin as a child it will be easier than speaking English. It has nothing to do with how easy it is to use these two different alternatives.

I didn’t have a hard time learning the ribbon. Going back to my original post, I just don’t see how it’s so inscrutable as others in these comments claim. Could it be that all these claims of the ribbon being a “much” harder are overblown? It honestly doesn’t seem so much different than a menu system to me, and again there are pros and cons for both. I think if you’re going to continue making this claim you should attempt to quantify it.

It may also be that claims that the ribbon is easy to use are overblown, and are result of familiarity instead of any true advantage. If you want to claim that the ribbon is easier to use you should also quantify it, otherwise your personal claim is just an anecdote.

I'm not saying it's easier to use. I've said multiple times in this thread they seem just about the same to me. They're just two ways of displaying a hierarchy of functions. One way hides a lot of it in menus and takes up less room, the other way lays it out on the screen and takes up more room. I get a lot of work done in either interface. There are pros and cons to both. In the end I can write documents in both. I personally find it easier to discover new functionality in the ribbon, but I feel at peak competency they difference is a wash.