No, it's not a joke. It depends on noob. If he/she has enough motivation and wants to learn, rather than just get another Windows, then some distro that doesn't hide the workings of Linux is the best way to go. People tend to forget that steeper learning curve also means faster learning.

I can speak from experience since I started my Linux use by Gentoo stage 1 install. Sure I was completely lost and it took me several days to get the damn thing compiled. (it was only possible thanks to Gentoo's great documentation) But in those two days I learned much more about Linux than during a year of Ubuntu use. Distros that put much effort on automation and ease of use often put their focus only on the surface and tend to be uglier and more complex under the hood. It means that when something goes wrong it will be harder to fix.

Given that Maemo/MeeGo harmattan is debian based I would suggest debian. It's truly a community distro with lots of skilled developers and great flexibility.

It's always best to try out several different distros when you are new to linux and give each one some time. Learn their quirks and soon you'll form your own opinion that will make the decision easy.

Whenever you hit a wall remember that google is your friend (atleast in this rare case), use it and it's very likely that someone has already faced the same problem and solved it for you.

If you persist through the initial troubles you'll notice that Linux offers you new possibilities you couldn't even dream of.