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The usefulness of useless knowledge
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The usefulness of useless knowledge

by Abraham Flexner, Robbert Dijkgraaf

This volume pairs a 1939 essay with contemporary commentary to examine how curiosity-driven research, despite lacking immediate practical application, provides the essential foundation for major technological breakthroughs and scientific innovation.

Accession 11983 ISBN 9780691174761 Publisher Princeton University Press
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Culture Education Philosophy Psychology Science Social Sciences
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position_updated_at
2026-06-10 16:16
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Identity

name→ title
The usefulness of useless knowledge
vernon_id
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11983
vernon_slug
the-usefulness-of-useless-knowledge-abraham-flexner-with-a-companion-essay-by-robbert-dijkgraaf

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isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9780691174761

Descriptive

production_date
2017
object_type
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object_status
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brief_description
This brief book includes Flexner's timeless 1939 essay alongside a new companion essay by Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Institute's current director, in which he shows that Flexner's defense of the value of "the unobstructed pursuit of useless knowledge" may be even more relevant today than it was in the early twentieth century. -- blurb.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Abraham Flexner, Robbert Dijkgraaf
tags→ tags
Psychology, Philosophy, Civilisation, Research, Science -- History, Science -- Philosophy, Discoveries in science, Science -- Study and teaching, Learning and scholarship, Learning, Psychology of, Educational psychology
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