There is something to be said for that, U. However, allow me to comment on a couple points-
Ars is unlike the typical RPG's that most folk play, because it's not "level based" like D&D, and not "experience/skill driven" like GURPS, both of which can be much fun, but are between them representative of Characer Advancement in most RPG's - you kill the monster so you can learn French. Ars works almost purely in terms of "Advancement comes with Time" (with only small, relevant "learning by doing" rules), and therefore is more "realistic"- not purely, but more so in comparison.
It's important for players to understand that, and to accept it. Too often, a player will come to Ars expecting to be The Mage of The Mountain, stare lightning bolts and belch chlorine gas, and while that's possible with Ars, it won't happen very quickly (unless that's how the SG wants it to work, and starts/fast-forwards decades into the mage's career.)
The problem with new players is to not understand, not appreciate the distance between those two points, of an apprentice or newly-gauntleted mage and a veteran bolt-thrower. That, and the advanced spectrum of possibilities can be overwhelming, rather than baby steps. A strong arguement can be made that, with a radically different system and RPG approach, kindergarten is not a bad place to start for a session or three, then let them jump a few grades.
This is a matter of Story Guide style, but it's important that the Players all understand what to expect, whether to blindly follow the GM's adventure-of-the-day, or to use their own judgement in every situation. Here's the diff:
The new magi hear the local rumour of a "Troll Bridge", an old Roman stone bridge that would be handy to have, but is said to be the haunt of some monster. No peasant wants to get near this bridge, and no one has (and returned!) for generations. If the monster was removed (or shown to be gone), life would be better, and the magi heroes.
If the magi go there, do they...
- Find a critter/challenge that they can defeat, appropriate to their skills & abilities.
...or...
- Get killed by the Troll. (It was a friggin' Troll Bridge, what were they thinking?!)
There are good arguements for both approaches. The first is forgiving but very artificial, and requires the players to only let the SG lead them by the nose; the second is more "realistic" and unforgiving, but encourages the players to know their limitations and be suspicious and cautious in all actions.
The only "wrong" thing is for a SG to switch back and forth, so the Players never know which is which, sometimes the Players walking trustingly into danger, and other times mistrusting the harmless lead-in to the main story. And if an SG ever wants the players to worry about what they're hearing from that SG, if he ever wants them to think on their own, and mistrust a rumour, or an NPC- it might be good to start early, to get them used to thinking on their own about their options. 8)