Mildly Interesting

I agree, I just meant to point out that there is a fuzzy limit between when you need protection and when you don't. Consider the story (unsure if true) about when someone scolded Tony Hawk for carrying his child while skating down the street: For most people, that would be foolishly risky, but Tony Hawk is about as likely to fall while skating down the street as an ordinary person is while walking.

Likewise, Alex Honnold does a bunch of climbing with protection, but also does climbs that no one else would consider without it. However, climbing a 6c for him is probably comparable to someone ordinary climbing a 4 (or even less). Even I've climbed some short 4-routes without gear as parts of a hike (never more than maybe 5-10m), and wouldn't have done it if I didn't feel safe doing it.

Of course, I think he probably pushes the limit a bit beyond what's reasonable, my point is just that it's probably not as foolishly risky as a lot of people think.