jvns, your articles and conversational writing style are great. I hear you saying "'X is hard' is a way to not lose a reader by insulting their intelligence". My immediate reaction is "'X is easy' is a reminder that things that look hard upon first examination can be quite easy".

I think in general this level of "kid-gloves" is overall unhealthy for society. It encourages mental weakness.

At the same time, I understand that your aim is to reach as large an audience as possible so your educational material can have max impact. For this reason, I can justify you having this stance. That said, I don't think it applies globally.