> it builds a knowledge base and a trains a whole bunch of people on how to do science. 

It seems odd to say, but even the money spent on dead ends yields a benefit. Having pursued a dead end, the researcher can alert others "don't go there." On the other hand, I feel that personally I have benefited from the Bee-Informed Partnership. I remember when Dennis VE was first starting it, he said there are a lot of beekeepers who are keeping their bees alive and a lot who aren't. We need to get the info from the one to the other. Also, they helped a lot of bright people advance their careers and that will stay with us for decades.

PLB

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