You're comparing a short experiment with no side effects to getting possibly addicted for life though... Sure, you could research some tech from the books and references, but that's never the same as having an experimental, hands-on experience. Mostly because people almost never have the exact same use case as you, so you may realise what's missing in a few minutes of experimenting - but nobody wrote about it before, because it wasn't relevant for them.

Research may be enough. But research + trying a simple prototype is always better.