> Today many students want everything "spelled out". They seem to be continually looking for "defects" in problems, but not with the purpose of furthering their understanding by coping with ambiguity, but to provide an excuse for not even thinking further about the problem.

But shouldn't the burden be put on the educator to provide problem scenarios for understanding that aren't unrealistic? It just seems common sense to develop an uninterested attitude toward things that start out trying to prove by understanding a thing that could never happen.