Gerald Graff believes that we have underestimated many of our fellow human beings. In his essay "Hidden Intellectualism" he contests that students apathetic (and seemingly hopeless) in the classroom will flourish in a setting where their personal interests and skills are used to cultivate their academic potential. To go even further, these apathetic students may contain a wealth of knowledge and skills that may not be present in the more classically bookish student. Graff illustrates this through a personal experience when he says, "It was in these discussions with friends about toughness and sports, I think, and in my reading of sports books and magazines, that I began to learn the rudiments of the intellectual life." Inspired by his life outside of school, he fine-tuned his ability to argue academically. Furthermore, when students lack interest in a topic, they'll only produce bland, uninvolved work. The test of a true intellectual is to bring life to even the least highbrow subject. Graff proposes that schools will benefit from providing this gateway between students' personal interests and future academic ventures.