The scientist does not study nature because it is useful to do so. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful it would not be worth knowing, and life would not be worth living. I am not speaking, of course, of the beauty which strikes the senses, of the beauty of qualities and appearances. I am far from despising this, but it has nothing to do with science. What I mean is that more intimate beauty which comes from the harmonious order of its parts, and which a pure intelligence can grasp.

- Henri Poincaré

Too often I hear people say, "I don't see when I will need to apply this stuff in real life" when they're studying something they don't like. Poincaré was right, I think: it doesn't matter.

Except when you're studying syntax from minimalist approach, which is neither beautiful nor useful. In that case, it does matter -_-

I still regret the amount of time and energy I spent on that course.