The sad thing is, this example, while ludicrous, is perfectly justifiable, at certain scales. If that town is, say a big one on the East coast, your two hours (or even half a day, or whole day!) are little loss compared to the savings that will occur from the analysis. Hell, your hypothetical "curious person" would be well worth the investment of a six figure salary for the city!
That being said, I guess it depends on what results these random maunderings produce, and it's probably a crapshoot as to whether they are more often than not to result in favorable outcomes. Also, I like your example (obviously :)
Unless it's a hobby or an intellectual exercise, a brilliant solution without a customer/market is a waste of time at all scales, destined to moulder.
Chances are, you'd approach Town Hall with the solution to all their pothole problems and they would ignore it. To make it worthwhile, you'd either have to have earlier signed a contract with Town Hall to figure out their potholes (ie. have a customer) or develop a business based on your solution (ie. develop a market).
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The sad thing is, this example, while ludicrous, is perfectly justifiable, at certain scales. If that town is, say a big one on the East coast, your two hours (or even half a day, or whole day!) are little loss compared to the savings that will occur from the analysis. Hell, your hypothetical "curious person" would be well worth the investment of a six figure salary for the city!
That being said, I guess it depends on what results these random maunderings produce, and it's probably a crapshoot as to whether they are more often than not to result in favorable outcomes. Also, I like your example (obviously :)
Unless it's a hobby or an intellectual exercise, a brilliant solution without a customer/market is a waste of time at all scales, destined to moulder.
Chances are, you'd approach Town Hall with the solution to all their pothole problems and they would ignore it. To make it worthwhile, you'd either have to have earlier signed a contract with Town Hall to figure out their potholes (ie. have a customer) or develop a business based on your solution (ie. develop a market).