There is the interest that draws pageviews and adds advertising dollars, and I believe there is a different interest that informs you and gives you new things to think about, with less mass appeal but greater utility/value to the reader.
Talk about people or talk hedged in human interest might be at the first end of the spectrum because anyone can have an opinion, and reciting that opinion is the extent to which you interact with the idea.
The other end of the spectrum has a limited, focused appeal because you must have thought about it or have some understanding of the subject before you can participate. Then, your opinion/understanding process is challenged to fit pieces together that might offer contradictions to your beliefs, or require you to form new ones.
Nice thought, but 179 degrees away from natural human tendencies. For the most part, people want to talk about other people, see pictures of other people, and be with other people.
Even here at Hacker News...
Last week, there were 2 or 3 gossip threads with hundreds of upvotes and on the front page for several days (Angelgate, New York vs. Chicago, Facebook). At the same time, there were quite a few excellent threads about useful ideas and techniques that I had to bookmark because they were gone so fast.
There's a difference between what should work and what does work and we're all guilty.