Learn English – “How hard is it to…” vs “How easy is it to…”

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While I was reading this question from another Stack Exchange site, I got a little bit confused.

The title of the question is:

"How easy is it to start Magic from scratch?"

In my opinion, I would assume that OP found the game easy to learn (an assumption); however, they were unsure of how easy it actually is ("easy, but no that much", etc).

However, in the body of the OP's question, it says:

"But I feel like Magic is way more complex, thus more difficult to learn than other card games."

Having said that, I think it would be more appropriate for the title to say:

"How HARD is it to start Magic from scratch?"

Am I correct? Is there a difference between these two ways? FWIW, I'm not a native English speaker.

Best Answer

"More difficult" does not necessarily mean "hard".

I will explain using a parallel, around the words "heavy" and "heavier".

  1. A piece of paper is light (i.e. not heavy).
  2. A banana is heavier than a piece of paper.
  3. A helicopter is really heavy.

Now, lets analyze the "banana": is it heavy? Actually, no; nobody would really call a banana "heavy". Because "heavy" is reserved for other objects, like "cement brick" or "helicopter".

It is the same in the original example. "More difficult" does not (necessarily) mean "hard". Maybe it is still easy to learn, but not as easy as other games.

"How hard" vs. "How easy"

Actually, in this context, they are both OK and they mean the same thing. Since hard and easy are not measurable, the answer cannot be really short, like: "42". Ok... 42 what? The answer to these questions is usually an explanation, where the listener can make his own mind.

A very good example from @JasonBassford, posted in a comment (thank you):

Airplanes are very complex pieces of machinery—yet it's very simple for passengers to sit in seats while traveling in them.

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