The real power here lies in Tolkien's refusal to equate uncertainty with failure—he's defending the wanderer against centuries of cultural suspicion. We've been trained to view the purposeless journey as wasted time, yet some of humanity's most consequential discoveries (penicillin, the printing press, New World routes) emerged from people following tangents rather than predetermined maps. A musician who leaves a stable job to busk in different cities might look lost to her parents, but she's actually conducting market research, building resilience, and finding her authentic voice—three things no five-year plan would have granted her.