Gillian Tett of the Financial Times discusses The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge, an essay published by American educationalist Abraham Flexner eight decades ago and recently re-released by the Institute for Advanced Study. Tett believes that the essay is as relevant today as it was then.

“…it was vital, Flexner said, that these ‘useless’ [research] endeavours should be supported, even if they did not produce an immediate payback, because otherwise the next wave of innovation simply would not occur.”