"Poker also has a big potential downside, which is obsession, outright misery and despair which can slowly creep into your life. Distinguishing between addiction and a pursuit you are thoroughly interested in and enjoy is often difficult to pinpoint."

Yeah, a long list of things you can do on the internet has these same potential downsides.

"Math in poker is a little overrated."

I think it's one of the most important parts of the game. Poker is like a market and in each street you are basically looking for arbitrage opportunities. The players set the odds for you, some are long term winners, others are long term losers.

"To get there though will take most people a lot of time, probably time better spent elsewhere."

I agree with this, however, for me poker is a social activity. And that's worth it.