You never know. Smart people being smart for smart's sake often create unexpected benefits. Trying to direct them to things with 'demonstrable intrinsic value'

You never know. Smart people being smart for smart's sake often create unexpected benefits. Trying to direct them to things with 'demonstrable intrinsic value' mostly pisses them off and makes them less likely to come up with truly revolutionary ideas. And so long as these people are teaching 300-level classes to undergrads they're definitely doing something of value, even if it's only creating individuals as jaded as yourself (which who knows, may have some value.)