I would say for me it is the applications that are boring, not the fundamentals behind them. For a lot of people fundamental laws of nature are deeply inspirin

I would say for me it is the applications that are boring, not the fundamentals behind them. For a lot of people fundamental laws of nature are deeply inspiring, tangentially because of a belief that those fundamental laws and their deeper understanding bear fruit beyond our wildest imagination. Compared to this it is easy to see how today's applications are just boring. Sure, today's technology was yesterday's research project, but you can not fault people for being excited more about current research than about applications of yesterday's research. PS: However I agree that the quoted statement was poorly phrased to convey this sentiment. From what I know about the speaker I am fairly confident that this is what he was trying to say.