Because Science, man. You don't do things in science because they are practical (you just write that on the grant applications), in fact you do many things lar

Because Science, man. You don't do things in science because they are practical (you just write that on the grant applications), in fact you do many things largely because they are impractical. It's about wonder and lust for knowledge and all that. It just so happens that the theoretical ground work for all technology piggy backed on this motivation.