This is a good one. I've certainly sunk a lot of time into that activity, and I have the degrees to prove it, but you're right about how it's not really progress unless it leads to something.

If you just love learning random stuff, then it's a perfectly fine hobby. Plus, you might be able to leverage that in the future in ways that weren't foreseeable at the time.

Another thing I just quit doing is watching corporate news. As with your example, the feeling of being informed is almost entirely an illusion.