I don't see how we can say from a Xn standpoint that _for any
given individual_ investment of time in "family and friends" must be
more important, or even as important, as scientific work. God's
commission to humanity in Gen.1 includes (though it is not limited to)
understanding the world. An individual may rightly feel that he/she has
been given abilities more aligned to this than to "be fruitful &
multiply" &c. The world would be in bad shape if everyone were a
scientist of that sort, but that isn't a very real danger.
There are good aspects of the monastic tradition, though they
easily become distorted when monasticism is seen as superior to the life
of "ordinary" Christians. & there is a monastic quality to those
intensely devoted to scientific pursuits. Again, I am speaking of those
who see science as a genuine vocation.
George Murphy