"a long stick is kinda intuitive". People train for years to master spears in traditional martial arts. Skill levels equal, a man with a spear will eat alive a man with a sword.

If you are talking about massed spears then you might be right that it doesn't take as much training. I've never been in a massed spear formation, so i can't really say. I imagine a good deal of training is needed to have a maneuverable formation with them.

If we are comparing apples to apples, an army equipped primarily with swords is using them in a packed formation close to the enemy. They are stabbing utilities. How is that "trickier" than stabbing with a spear? If anything, I would imagine executing maneuvers would be less tricky. Which is probably a big reasons Romans favored swords. They sacrificed range, for better maneuverability.

I made the mistake of reading the comments at the end of this article. Very depressing. The Enlightenment is dead.