Put $100 into 100 of the "best" coins, fair enough - it's a nice, fun little gamble.
It definitely is a gamble though - no one has any way of knowing which (if any) of those coins will survive long enough to make you a profit - let alone long enough to jump 10,000X in price and become worth $10,000.
The problem is, if one coin does make it to that level of worth, it is likely to be in many years time - and there's no way of knowing that it will be one of the coins which is "best" today. So to improve your chances you have to continually invest time in researching the current "best" coins.
Eventually it becomes a trade-off of time. It's very, very hard to make a full time living off of Crypto gambling, just as it is with any other kind of gambling - its possible, but you need an "edge" which gives you a chance against the house. So most people involved also have full-time jobs, and therefore not an infinite amount of time to put into the game.
So - like everything else - it becomes a matter of working out whether it is an efficient way of spending your time. I've put 100s of hours this year into cryptos - analyzing, trading, investing, mining - and made a little bit of money back. The problem is, I've almost certainly made less than I would have done if I'd worked minimum-wage in a kitchen washing dishes for the same amount of time.
(Lets say - conservative estimate - I've spent 200 hours trading, researching, etc, coins - in the UK at £7.50 p/h which is what I believe is current minimum wage for someone of my age, I would have made £1,500 or $2,334.)
During all that time I've spent this year, trading and investing, from a starting investment of £200, I've made about £700 profit (mainly by gaining from LTC/BTC rise at the right time).
Now, earning it my way was a lot more fun - I did it sitting on my arse, in front of the TV, smoking some fine plant materials. I also learned a lot about how markets work - and a hell of a lot more about how scammers operate. It's been a ride. So I'm fine with it.
But if my intention had been purely to make money, I would have been far better off taking a second job in a kitchen.
TL/DR Whether Altcoins are worthless depends on your aims. If your aim is to enjoy them, have fun and learn, they are not worthless. If your intention is purely to make a profit, they are fairly worthless.
Good post. I agree it wouldn't be worth it in the short-term unless you're having fun. I am definitely having fun, and I still give it a slight edge in favor of working for money - working for minimum wage has 0 chance of making you rich next year, while altcoins have .00000001 chance.
Unless you sell all your coins, in which case there's 0 chance. Most people can't understand that you haven't lost anything until you sell for a loss. They're ready to give up as soon as the market drops a little.