The gist; If (say) and undergrad and a couple of kids can't figure
out how to amke something potentially interesting work (stage caste,
in the case Iwas writing about) they are likely to declare it
boring and the adults who put them up to it, well, uncool. But
if for some reason they get lucky, or stick with it, or an old
geezer comes by and drops a hint that start to unlock the activity,
remarkable transformations in interest level can/may ensue.
Academically underserved populations confronted with educational
difficulties are particularly vulnerable to this form of interpreation.
Some might call it a form of learned helplessness.
Again, apologies for writing about this unbidden to xmca.
mike