I've had countless similar experiences, and it is nice to know that I am not alone in that arena =]
I was consistently considered "uninelligent" or "lacking" due to my absence of motivation for classes; this was a vicious cycle that diminished my self esteem for years.
Another story occured about a month ago with a professor I had. I came up with a research question combining neuroscience and physics with graph theory-- only to be told to "refrain" from studying any mathematics or excessively difficult questions that are beyond my grasp. I was then told to study the course material rather than come up with my own interpretations. Needless to say I recieved a B in this class for posing too many questions and not regurgitating the material imposed upon us by the professor.
I think a fair analysis is as follows:
Some fear that which they do not understand. Plain and simple.
