The real value of almost everything is based on effort I think. The best gifts aren’t the ones that are the most expensive but the ones the giver put the most effort and time into. One of the reasons I like pre-cgi is the amount of skill and the effort put into FX is astonishing. Claymation and stop motion don’t look amazing - it’s the effort.
And to your point, knowing how much effort really goes into something often requires a bit of experience to really appreciate it.