It was a tangible example of my statement in the prior post:
"It is good research and it had to be done."
Breaking it down into smaller pieces (in case I've again skipped some steps in the logic and lost everyone but myself):
You have to try things out in order to build on them to the next step. Even if you fail, you still learn something from the endeavor. Failing at something new does not cry out for derision from the peanut gallery.
Does the Bussard reference make sense now?