I think a big part of the point was that by demonstrating that the analysis software works on toy systems, you can get a big jump on your validation of those an

I think a big part of the point was that by demonstrating that the analysis software works on toy systems, you can get a big jump on your validation of those analysis methods. Why wait until you have the best data if there seems to be a lot of low hanging fruit you can get now? It could be wasted effort, but if it does work wouldn't you be more confident on real data? Even if it doesn't prove to be relevant, this type of statistics seems very interesting and widely applicable. Obviously reverse engineering, probably identifying alien life, characterizing group behavior on the internet... anywhere where you're still discovering structure and don't know what to expect.