I think I mostly agree with you on the philosophy. Maybe I just missed it in 2001, but for an unanswered question to be interesting, I need to have some evidence, some way of getting traction on it. If I don't have a way to move forward with a question, I put it in the same bucket as simulationism and move on to something productive. The star child thing seemed like weirdness without a method, and the main question it raised in my mind was how it connected to anything at all.

Maybe if I watched it again I would get more of it.