I'd agree it's not anything to the practice itself, but I would argue that it is something to a path to practice. Arguably, Elon Musk found out what happens if

I'd agree it's not anything to the practice itself, but I would argue that it is something to a path to practice. Arguably, Elon Musk found out what happens if you commit to large purchases without due diligence. What else would make me think that it's even an executable algorithm? How do you get from non-belief to belief at all? Why investigate if the whole thing looks shaky or like some kind of weird scam just to invest society with morality? A lot of religious trappings seem partially to function as theater, show, or advertising. This generates some interest without understanding. The first understanding and further interest will probably come intellectually thereafter. The Dalai Lama has characterized one of the strengths of Tibetan Buddhism as laying out a complete path, no "missing steps." In his Introduction to Buddhism, he describes how a beginner might start out with analytical contemplation before meditation, getting familiar with the idea. I think that understanding this sort of thing can help the thing scale. Quite a few traditions hold that you must have living transmissions of sorts, or need a guru. I think that serves, in part, to show in a living being that it is possible and not an act...but we don't have 3.5 billion spiritual masters to mentor 3.5 billion other people, and I don't see anything wrong with replacing a little trip or roadblock on the path with intellectual understanding. The traditions, understanding, and concepts all exist to create a workable path. Scaffolding doesn't have anything to do with having a building in the end, but if you want a building, you'll probably find scaffolding useful along the way.