>>22
Well, as far as Blender is concerned,
>>24 makes a point. Basically, through analysis and experimentation (i.e. building UIs, not just playing with them) I have found that 'discoverability' doesn't compromise the power of the interface. Blender is a big exception, I can't reduce its UI (on the whole) to one that is more obvious without compromising it. There are areas that could be improved easily.
Keep in mind, though, that this relates specifically to animation. If you do not animate with Blender, a different UI may be suitable, especially if you are new to the package.
>>23
(See above.) Simply saying "intuitive is good" is not what this is about. It's more of a "obtuse is unnecessary" in terms of the usability compromise. The observation here is that Blender goes against that trend in a way that makes it anomalous.
The biggest reason that this is unexpected is that the object of the application is something that is easy to conceptualize. Assuming you know even just the very basics about 3D animation
* you should be able to conceive of a natural system for ordering and expressing these things, which will dictate the expected workflow. As far as it is obtuse or unintuitive, Blender's workflow violates these expectations (no matter how much you know, technologically), but far better than what one would come to expect.
>>26
That more or less sidesteps (or at least modifies) the UI issue, and, obligatorily: FIOC is kind of slow.