Quite. I'm not sure it's entirely useful even to think about it in terms of "real". I feel that, in a lot of instances, both are true for many. But I may be wrong.

I think it's possible to have sensible discussions about it (in terms of dissecting and analysing the various connected ideas), but whether there is much that is useful would no doubt depend on our positions. I can entirely see why you wouldn't find any of it useful at all. I find it somewhat useful, but mainly from the acquiring-pointless-knowledge perspective.