To me, this is the cost of discovery. Just like a game of chess, you have to spend a lot of energy/cost thinking about lines that will not come to fruition to find the correct path.

Poor Alzheimer's research was/is stunted for a few people at the top pushing the wrong path. We'll see if that's the case for DM vs MOND vs something else.

Money will always be distributed to the wrong areas, but as long as you believe the human race to exist far into the future, it will eventually work itself out.