LOL....we are far more alike than you think. Growing up I read more about archaeology than probably anything else. Egypt, ancient Babylon, Troy, the Norse ship burial sites, Druid burial sites in Britain, with a smattering of dinosaur bones and flash-frozen Mastodons thrown in for variety. I've still got quite a few books on the subject(s), but it has been "back-burnered" for lack of time.
"My guess is that the two of us would have had a blast playing around together in my personal lab at my last big employer's. That's where I tried new and off-the-wall stuff, did my Q&D setups -- and made most of my basic discoveries.
I suspect you're right.
"And, I expect that you -- like I -- find "the excitement of the search and the joy of discovery" to be truly fun. (Some of the best researchers I've known have said, "I can hardly believe they pay me this much to have this much fun!")
Well, I've never said it was better than sex, but it certainly runs a close second..... :^)
I don't think there is any greater MENTAL thrill than pulling out of the depths of your imagination an apparatus that works flawlessly......especially if it is doing something that others have said "couldn't be done".