Re:

By association - nerdy, hobbyist, ultimately pointless, primarily concerned with taxonomy and entirely removed from the culture & application of the thing in its natural living environment. I think most everyone on the planet has used stamps at some point in their lives, and even appreciated the beauty of some of them, but what proportion regard them as a subject worthy of study and move into realms of philately?

I asked a friend of mine why he collected stamps; his pragmatic reply: "in case I'm ever paralyzed!"