The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge
E250721
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge is an influential essay arguing that seemingly impractical, curiosity-driven research is essential for major scientific and societal advances.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge canonical | 3 |
Statements (41)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
essay
ⓘ
non-fiction work ⓘ |
| advocates |
support for pure research
ⓘ
support for seemingly impractical inquiry ⓘ |
| argues |
curiosity-driven research leads to major practical applications
ⓘ
freedom from immediate utility is important for discovery ⓘ society benefits from investment in basic science ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Institute for Advanced Study ⓘ |
| author | Abraham Flexner ⓘ |
| circulatedAs |
magazine article
ⓘ
reprinted essay ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticizes | overemphasis on short-term utility in research funding ⓘ |
| field |
higher education
ⓘ
philosophy of science ⓘ science policy ⓘ |
| form | prose ⓘ |
| genre | essay ⓘ |
| hasPerspective | pro-basic-research ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
independence of scholars
ⓘ
intellectual curiosity ⓘ long-term benefits of knowledge ⓘ relationship between theory and application ⓘ |
| hasTitle | The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge self-link ⓘ |
| influenced |
arguments for funding basic research
ⓘ
discourse on science policy ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
academic freedom
ⓘ
curiosity-driven research ⓘ scientific progress ⓘ value of basic research ⓘ |
| mentions | historical examples of unexpected applications of basic research ⓘ |
| notableFor |
defense of useless knowledge as socially valuable
ⓘ
influence on later discussions of research funding ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1939 ⓘ |
| publisher |
Harper's Magazine
ⓘ
surface form:
Harper’s Magazine
|
| targetAudience |
academics
ⓘ
general educated public ⓘ policy makers ⓘ |
| timePeriod | 20th century ⓘ |
| workOf | Abraham Flexner ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.