[Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society

[Moshe Yehuda Gluck]

R'n CL:
*It depends what you mean by talmud torah.  A
*TUM perspective is that the talmud torah is of a better quality if the
*mada aspect of life is explored - that is very clear from R' Lamm's
*books.  So if talmud torah is kneged kulam then a better quality may
*well be better (even if it is a better quality earned at the expense of
*quantity).  That is also why I was saying that Torah u'Parnasa is
*different from TUM -ie Torah u'Madda.  Madda, ie literally science, is
*about the knowledge of the secular world, and the need to explore it in
*order to better strengthen one's Torah understanding.

The problem I have with this is that it doesn't seem to be very practical.
First, an assumption (and if we disagree, then my argument is moot): Not
_every_ aspect of Mada will enhance the quality of Talmud Torah. So,
although the Gra reportedly felt that it is imperative to learn math and he
knew Euclid's work well, we have no source that he felt it was important to
be versed in the oeuvre of Tiepolo.
Now, how will one know that his Mada studies will enhance the quality of his
Torah study? One of three ways. 1) By accident. (I can't begin to tell you
how happy I was to understand a Rashi that referenced niello-work just a few
days after I happened to read about it in the dormitory bathroom's
Britannica.) 2) By design - you already know that learning this will help
your learning, as others have already trodden this path. Learning the Ayil
Meshulash is a good example, or listening to the Kuzari about music, or to
your teachers who identify any specific field or topic as beneficial. 3) By
hit-or-miss. You study as much Mada of whatever variety you can find or are
interested in, and you hope that some of it will be useful. This is
different from the first method, because there your intention was not even
to study - some Mada that you picked up happened to be useful. Here, you try
to make that accident repeat itself using the brute-force method - cram as
much Mada into your head as possible, so that there is a large likelihood
that some of it will be useful in enhancing the quality of your Torah
knowledge. 
The problem with the first method is that there is much Torah that will not
be understood fully because of the fluky nature of this method. The problem
with the third method is that it's extremely inefficient and still leaves
the possibility of being unsuccessful - what if your particular interests
don't coincide with any Torah you learn?
If I had to stereotype, I would say that the most right wing of Torah Jews
favor the first method (or possibly even less than that). The most left wing
probably tend to favor the third method (or less than that - where Mada
becomes an end in itself). Personally, as should already be obvious, I favor
the second method.
Just for the record, I'm not positive that R'n CL disagrees with me - but
thank you either way, R'n CL, for the opportunity to share my thoughts!

KT,
MYG