Whats TNT good for anyway? if you blow up blocks with TNT does it act like you mined them and can pick up the blocks?
Speed. If you're trying to clear an area, TNT is much faster than going at it by hand. It's not clean though. TNT will make floors and ceilings uneven if you're not careful.
TNT will allow the user to pick up some materials (dirt, cobble, redstone, coal). Ores (diamond, gold, iron) will disintegrate.