This is such a stupid framing, I’m sick of it. The kids taking this class aren’t your average “wow math was boring until I took this class, thanks MIT!” students. They’re basically all people who grinded through high school and probably competed in the IMO to get where they are. Trying to view this through the lens of making math fun is a disservice to the class and these students. I’m sure they do actually enjoy what they do but it’s like showing up at YC demo day and going “these are the people making entrepreneurship fun”. No, they’re actually a bunch of people whose motivation is likely mystifying to you.
No wonder they beat my school, they have a whole class on the Putnam exam. Well, I'm still proud I got one question right once.