I think that it shouldn't lead to burnout if you keep the "play" or "interest" aspect. It's not "I have to find something at the frontier, so I have to pursue this until I get there." It's "I'm interested in this, and so I'm pursuing it because I want to."

> Is it not more likely that most historically successful people just stumbled on the promising gaps almost by accident?

Yes and no. Yes, they stumbled on a promising gap by accident. No, it's not pure chance. Their odds go way up by being out there stumbling around, looking at things they find interesting.