Maybe... but I wouldn't be so quick as to assume bad intent ("never attribute to malice", etc.)

What's the deal with "copy" for example? Why does the source of the copy have to be highlighted, why is it so fragile, why does it disappear from the clipboard when one presses the Escape key? This has been the case since I think the very first version of Excel, and never changed.

I don't know of any other program that works that way. It didn't make sense then (I think), and it doesn't make sense now.