The Worth of "Useless" Knowledge

Joseph E. Davis of the Hedgehog Review reflects on The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge (Princeton University Press, March 2017) by founding IAS Director Abraham Flexner with a companion essay by current IAS Director Robbert Dijkgraaf. Davis writes, “Following in Flexner’s footsteps, Dijkgraaf makes an important case for the social and ‘unobstructed curiosity’ and the need to resist the growing pressure to prioritize ‘short-term goals’ and direct all effort to ‘more immediate problems.’”