Pursuit Nontrivial

I agree with the spirit of Matt Landreman’s Opinion but not with all of its substance. Words such as “trivial” and “easy” are sometimes used in a patronizing manner, but I think they are more often intended in the spirit of a hint. If an author tells me that a derivation is “easy,” I take it to mean that if I get bogged down in some messy equations I am probably doing it wrong and should back up and try again. That hint can save me from flailing away needlessly on the wrong path. I would urge that such adjectives be used with discretion and care rather than eliminated altogether.