I'm admitting I've not browsed through the Q&A area much, primarily because of my perception of that interface being too opaque

I can't see how the possibility difficulty in finding an answer to a specific question would discourage you from browsing with no particular question in mind. I think I went through all of the Q&A during my first few weeks here. It's a great repository of information. On the other hand, I haven't really delved into the Tutorials section.

I agree that the categorizations aren't perfect; many questions might reasonably fall into more than one category, but are only listed in one. Possibly some cross-listing would help.

When someone asked you whether you'd tried Super Search, I think they meant for finding what you might be seeking in Q&A, not for finding whether this topic had been discussed. Super Search is another way of finding what you want in Q&A.