Oomis and writersoul, I was not addressing the parnassah issue (see, however, R’ Moshe’s famous teshuvah). There are other reasons to engage in secular studies as well. I just wanted to point out that some of the reasons/excuses people give are weak.
For example, appreciating Hashem’s world is wonderful, yet it can still be bittul Torah to the point of ?????? ?????.