armchair biology
Biology research so pointless its only real use is for the people who research it to sit around in armchairs discussing said pointless dribble with each other. Ironically, armchair biologists usually feel a false sense of superiority, insisting that the obscurity of their work only makes is more special and therefore noteworthy. Such research is often conducted in a whale jail and may or may not be cupcake science. In summary, armchair biology wastes money and time to help nobody in the end and armchair biologists are pretentious assholes.
Mark: Julie just spent 9 years on her Ph.D. figuring out the chemical compounds in eider spit from the western Aleutian Islands.
John: Nobody is ever going to give a shit about that in a million years, what a goddamn waste of time!
Mark: Yeah I know, another bright mind lost to armchair biology.
John: Nobody is ever going to give a shit about that in a million years, what a goddamn waste of time!
Mark: Yeah I know, another bright mind lost to armchair biology.