AFAIK the small improvements to asymptotic complexity achieved in the last decade or so don't really mean better practical performance due to higher constant fa

AFAIK the small improvements to asymptotic complexity achieved in the last decade or so don't really mean better practical performance due to higher constant factors. That probably isn't directly the point either. Perhaps new methods could lead to practical performance improvements in the long run, but my impression is that the recent improvements have been more of theoretical than practical interest. Even the asymptotic improvements are getting rather minuscule, though.