Well uncynically, a small number of crackpot theories end up being true. Science needs crackpots on some level to drive the truth forward. Cynically, after hav

Well uncynically, a small number of crackpot theories end up being true. Science needs crackpots on some level to drive the truth forward. Cynically, after having already achieved some level of legitimacy, having one or two big crackpot theories is a good way to drum up publicity/notability. If it turns out to be true, you would also be enormously respected and influential. So it’s incentivized by more than just discovering the truth