Then I had another thought: Physics disgusts me a little bit now, but I used to enjoy doing physics. Why did I enjoy it? I used to play with it. I used to do whatever I felt like doing – it didn’t have to do with whether it was important for the development of nuclear physics, but whether it was interesting and amusing for me to play with. When I was in high school, I’d see water running out of a faucet growing narrower, and wonder if I could figure out what determines that curve. I found it was rather easy to do. I didn’t have to do it; it wasn’t important for the future of science; somebody else had already done it. That didn’t make any difference. I’d invent things and play with things for my own entertainment.

Richard Feynman

https://recreationalphysics.com/what-richard-feynman-wrote/#:~:text=Richard%20Feynman%20wrote%20about%20his,used%20to%20play%20with%20it.

Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5sCa-RYzlo