Many -- if not most -- human intellectual pursuits are a form of stotting. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotting )

Many -- if not most -- human intellectual pursuits are a form of stotting. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stotting ) In fact, competing with other minds, not meeting direct challenges in the environment, is probably what led to most of humanity's advanced intellectual development. Sure, it can be couched in the language of the "thrill of discovery" and all that, and some of that is true -- but that doesn't explain its genesis, and doesn't explain what you're talking about, as all too often, the difficult solution is taken over the easy solution merely because it is difficult.