I mentioned this briefly in the post, but I think this logic, again, puts scales on a pedestal.

I don't want to be a great pianist, I just want to be decent at expressing myself in musical form. For awhile, I thought this meant scales weren't really for me.

It turns out that, on the contrary, they are ideal for me because they quickly get me up to speed on what tends to sound good.

Ultimately, you're right, but scales may be worth a glance even if you're somewhere in the middle!