I think you misunderstand how much time and focus is spent on trivial problems. Somebody already replied to this, but I will add more on the same note.

1 If some scientist finds a way to save a minute per instance of brushing your teeth, and if there is no difference in quality and cost, that is 600 million+ minutes saved every day in the US alone.

2 If some scientist finds a way for nocturnal people to contribute to society like other people, that is surely on the same magnitude as 1.

3 If some scientist finds some way to cut 10% of time on inspecting welds, it is surely a huge boost to the economy.

This is of course not meant to endorse situations where the quality drops. E.g. "If one cent is saved per unit of milk produced, I can buy a new yacht!"