I personally think folding could be more than just a status symbol. I mean, I'll take myself for an example. I am sitting on my computer for 10 hours working on a 15 page term paper...I am using Appleworks...now, typing up a paper is not going to be using much of the power of my G4 system...I have all this processing power just sitting there doing nothing. If I were folding, then my G4 is actually doing something worthwhile as I am typing up my paper. As one individual person, you aren't going to make much of a difference with folding, but when you are a part of a large community who is folding, suddenly, that collective amount actually makes a dent and all that processing power is used in order to help calculate and crunch (or whatever they do) and make a difference in the medical sciences. I for one feel like this is a reasonable endeaver, and even if I may not fold a whole lot on my own, I can at least be a part of the vast collective who can make a difference. Plus, we can kick some ass for team Macrumors!