[imd]

I see that philosophy and math aren't the only fields where someone's work is more praiseworthy for being less practical!

[dspillett]

less immediately practical

How much "non practical" mathematics from the last couple of hundred years has turned out to be useful in physics problems and other areas (or just inspired other bits of maths that have had uses) over the last few decades?

If you are doing something new then there is no such thing as science purely for science's sake.