I think the point is not to encourage doing research that is pointless or boring, just that if you do try something (and there has to be some interesting or exc

I think the point is not to encourage doing research that is pointless or boring, just that if you do try something (and there has to be some interesting or exciting reason you thought it was worth trying), you publish the results even if it fails completely. At the very least this would serve to warn others that the approach you tried didn't work, saving them the effort or allowing them to learn from your mistakes.