"It was a very interesting academic exercise.
The actual number of species is an interesting academic question.
It provided him a very interesting academic and real-world exercise, all while walking a moral tightrope.
Answering these questions is more than just an interesting academic puzzle.
So while this map might seem like little more than an interesting academic exercise, its public health and policy implications are very real.
There is some interesting academic research into all this — economists looking at dating-site data and trying to discern whether people care less about racial differences, or socioeconomic differences, or political differences, than they do out in the "real" world.
If you make a criticism of these policies, it's not seen as an interesting academic debate, it's seen as an attack on someone's job, so you are more likely to find yourself in the complaints procedure".
In addition, I see this as more than simply a profoundly interesting academic, intellectual, or scientific question, but one that has implications for every aspect of how we operate in the world.
