You're just assuming that one set of optimisations are the most important for everyone in UI design. Good UI design doesn't state that it is always the case that people should be able to use it intuitively. Sometimes enhanced performance, speed, and focus over the long term are optimised over intuitiveness. This is the case for Vim. There is room in the world for both sets of optimisations.

I do not see how performance, speed and focus are a characteristic of vim. if anything, that's the one thing it lacks.

> I really want to like vim

> Also, why do I have to have a special mode to insert things?

First and foremost Vim is a modal text editor. If you don't like that Vim is probably not for you. Your comment is kind of like saying I'm really trying to like chocolate, but I don't like the flavour.

There's a Vim way of doing things, if you really take the time to learn it then the questions you are asking will all be resolved.