Latex doesn't require you to learn how to multiply two lengths! The beauty of LaTex is that it makes the simple things easy and hard things possible. If you don't like programming in TeX, great, just use a package that does what you want or use the defaults of the language. People who really care about the fine details of how the document looks can count on the TeX engine to do that (after reading Knuth's book). Everybody else can still take advantage of the great quality of the results.