I used emacs for years to write code and latex documents only knowing the commands to open and close files, copy/paste, and quit. I started with emacs in lieu of vim because I think modal editing is an insane and clunky solution to a problem that no longer exists.

The documentation isn't really very good due to the arcane terminology that often contradicts modern de facto standards in naming things (frames, buffers, windows) so that's a real barrier.

Plus the ecosystem is full of half-baked treatises on the One True Way to set up your init file that don't really explain why they made their choices.

But you can easily get by in emacs with just the basics. Then you just add commands to your repertoire when you're ready.