Comment by apexedison

Many people who in retrospect are truly innovative almost definitionally spend their time doing things other people don't regard as valuable (at first at least). As an extreme example of someone who prioritized a life of play look at Claude Shannon. He literally had a shop for building toys at home. I'm grateful he wasn't overly attracted to what others regarded as impactful at the time. That being said I still don't think it's important whether one's play becomes valued. I suspect in the long run we're all better off having people in the world who are passionate about what they are doing.