Anyone can grasp complicated ideas, given curiosity and confidence.
A growth mindset teaches that not understanding a topic is not a failure. It’s an opportunity. I learned in museums and science centers that the right approach can make any topic engaging. I apply this philosophy to my own learning process in parallel with content development.
That’s not to say it’s easy. Some of the topics I’ve written about — say astrophysics, or the secondary mortgage market — are profoundly hard to understand. What I’m fighting is the tendency to say “I’m not smart enough” and believe that the PhDs have something the rest of us don’t. That’s a fixed mindset.
If I can get key messages across and leave my audience with the tools and interest to keep learning at their own pace, I’ve done my job.