"Nobody's saying you should do anything you don't find interesting," she says mildly. "But if you find it useful, wouldn't you rather be able to put it to use? Prove that other people should be paying attention?"
Other options:
no subject
"Nobody's saying you should do anything you don't find interesting," she says mildly. "But if you find it useful, wouldn't you rather be able to put it to use? Prove that other people should be paying attention?"