Sorry, are people calling supersymmetry "Susy"? I hadn't heard that before. (I follow developments in this area, but only very infrequently and from afar.)

I agree that there should be research for the sake of research, but I don't think there's anything wrong with speculating about what practical benefits may accrue from the research, as long as it isn't argued that the research is conducted solely for those practical reasons. We can look for them, and even try to anticipate what they may be, but we must not allow them to become the raison d'être for research.

As for the humanists, their subject of study just isn't all that popular with people. Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say. ;)

Il faut se dépêcher d'agir, on a le monde à reconstruire