Exactly correct. It does result in safer travel, and worship of idols probably does not result in this! So there's a mix of tangible and intangible utility. :)

The entire public discourse of investigation, of which the actual result producing investigation is just a part, serves a narrative purpose akin to the ancients' gods. To some extent there's a spectacle of rigorous investigation and explanation in public discourse, and to that extent it's like worship for harvest. It makes us feel things are getting better when perhaps there are areas where we have little control. So there's a social utility and an engineering utility. That's the thesis anyway! Maybe it's all social or all engineering, tho I think each of those less likely than providing both.