George Bataille had a theory that excess and pointless expenditure was actually integral to the well being of human societies (his explanation for why ancient societies participated in practices that were, from an economic standpoint, totally wasteful, such as extreme rituals of extravagance, sacrifice, etc.) humans need a release valve, and I think “wasted energy”, debauchery, etc. is precisely this mechanism—even in minor ways.
> 80% of every proof is garbage - it’s a series of mindless algebra, and doing the obvious thing. When my goal is to learn, I want to find that 20% that is insightful, the steps that I would struggle to come up with myself
Right, once we do something long enough, it’s easy to take all the bits that are the foundation for what we’re doing for granted—but not everything is about returns, there is such a thing as discipline, rigor, the traditions of the art—and while the steps are tedious, they subtly reinforce core tenants when you encounter them, and that’s important.