The Hidden Value of Useless Knowledge by Abraham Flexner
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge (1939) [pdf]
I argue that the pursuit of knowledge without immediate practical application is the true source of unexpected utility. While society demands material solutions, history shows that giants like Maxwell, Hertz, and Faraday drove progress through pure curiosity, not the desire to be useful. Institutions must protect this unhampered curiosity, for it is the restless exploration of abstract riddles that ultimately transforms our world.
Throughout the whole history of science, most of the really great discoveries which had ultimately proved to be beneficial to mankind had been made by men and women who were driven not by the desire to be useful but merely the desire to satisfy their curiosity.