In my literary meanderings I came across the 1939 essay The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge (full text article available here), by Abraham Flexner. Yes, this is the same Abraham Flexner of the the famed Flexner Report.
I believe in being deliberate and focused in most things. However, this may not always be the best (or healthiest) strategy. As argued in the essay, the pursuit of useless knowledge can be useful when this proves unexpectedly consequential , as with the genesis of new discoveries. This is explored recently in a NY Times opinion, available here.
So now I feel much better about seemingly useless pursuits. Most likely they will amount to naught but sometimes they may pay dividends and take me to new horizons.
Relief.
