I primarily compare it to the silly social media apps I was making for $50-$90 an hour for other people

And then for $120 an hour

And then being rejected from every job for 6 months straight while I got incrementally better at leetcode, and saying the right thing in behavioral interviews

That was a much more quantifiable waste that had no value for any real human being

Its really hard for me to make the distinction you feel so passionately about