RE: Helm (and?) or Icicles (possibly using Evil)

[Drew Adams]

> Drew, do you happen to know if your "Help Plus" libs are
> compatible/helpful with Helm's approach?

Dunno.  I haven't heard that they are not, however.  It's easy enough
to try, and see.

--

I will however, unsolicited, echo something that some others have
hinted at, in hopes it can help you.  Yes, we do all learn somewhat
differently.  Nevertheless, here is my suggestion, FWIW:

You might want to start with vanilla Emacs (`emacs -Q'), and add
goodies that you want to experiment with one at a time, getting a bit
used to each step of the process.  IOW, give each goodie and yourself
a chance to get to know each other.  Make friends, even if you decide
later that you are not so interested in this or that.

And that includes getting to know stark-naked Emacs (-Q), at the
outset.  It's a beautiful thing, after all, even if it loudly invites
us all to fiddle with it (that's what it's for!), and even though we
all enjoy doing that so much.

Regardless of whether this convinces you to give each piece a
friendly chance, the same advice will help you learn, I think.
I also think it might make your learning more enjoyable.

Throwing a a shipload of stuff into a humongous sack, shaking it
vigorously, and then trying to figure out how things work in some
corner of it, or what might have gone wrong here or there, is
generally not a great recipe for either testing (QA) or learning.
Been there; done that - we all have.  But a reminder shouldn't hurt.

IOW, I'd suggest taking relatively small bites, chewing well,
pausing for some sips of good wine, and digesting in comfort under
a sympathetic shade tree, in delicious reverie from what you have 
ingested.  And in time going back for more...

It's not a race.

It's a banquet, or a smorgasbord.  And there is no shortage of fine
food and drink, and sweet music.

And even if it were a race, here's a lesson I learned at a birthday
party when I was maybe 7 yrs old (back when everyone counted using
roman numerals): Each kid had to eat a half dozen soda crackers,
with nothing to drink.  The first one to whistle after that won a
prize.

Naturally, we all stuffed as many crackers into our mouths as
possible as quickly as possible, chomped away furiously, etc.
Except for one kid, who took only ever-so-tiny nibbles, swallowing
each before taking another.  Way ahead of the rest of us -
no contest.

We are not crocodiles.  We can chew.  Enjoy the privilege.