Is it a waste of time?

I believe that researching things that are just "cool" but really have no benefit are not just a waste of time. Without knowledge like this, would we know not to put tin foil in the microwave? Or would we know that you can chew Stride gum wrappers and they eventually disolve? Yes, we need the scientists that spend their lives searching for a cure for cancer and AIDS, but also the scientists that find the useless knowledge just as well. Without them, I feel many more accidents would occur and people would be more likely to test things on their own because someone had not already done it for them. Though the scientists may seem less intelligent, or less capable of discovering bigger and better things, I don't believe any of this is true. Who says that discovering why tin foil sparks in the microwave isn't as important as why people get skin cancer? A discovery is a discovery; why does it matter how great it is?
I think that all scientists have to start somewhere, and maybe smaller, and the "less significant" discoveries are a great place to start. The flourescent fish and the burning cameras and satellites could be discoveries made by scientists who could find the cure for cancer twenty years down the road. We may never know. But I do know that it is unfair to say that the scientists are less important and their discoveries are a waste of time and just "cool".

I commented on Rogelio's, Ben's and Reiss's blog's.