Worth a dive into. It reminds me of the line "The end won't be for everyone".
If NPC theory has any merit to it, it explain near perfectly why most people just can't seem to be able to grasp what you've been telling them about the system.
That blank look, the immediate rejection, the programmed responses, the ability to maintain through control grids you and I find unbearable.
There is tons of research on it and it's very, very intriguing stuff.
Without the NPCs there wouldn't be real players who will win the game.