I used to think this, but I was amazed and impressed by the amount of attention the El Capitan Dawn Wall climb received in the media. That was very much about pushing the technical limits with only the normal climbing risks.

I was particularly impressed because as far as your average non climber is concerned there are things you can walk up and things that are impossible. It's hard to grasp what "very difficult" means if you have no frame of reference. You can grasp what "very dangerous" means though.