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The point is, if his goal is to truly make him understand, he can achieve that goal MUCH faster if he doesn't hurt the ego of the person he is having an argument with. When your intelligence is insulted, you will spend a lot more time defending yourself rather then accepting a point.

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This is true on a micro, per-interaction scale. On a macro scale, it can be more beneficial in the long run for people's egos to be hurt when they're wrong. For someone like Torvalds, the macro scale of interaction matters a lot.

You're basically supporting the "everyone's a winner" mindset. Sure, on a micro scale, tell the kid they were a winner for participating, guide them, and for that particular interaction everyone comes out ahead. On the macro scale, it's better to feel the sting of being wrong so you can learn from it.

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