By and large it is uniformly true in mathematics that there is a time lapse between a mathematical discovery and the moment when it is useful; and that this lapse of time can be anything from 30 to 100 years, in some cases even more; and that the whole system seems to function without any direction, without any reference to usefulness, and without any desire to do things which are useful.
"The Role of Mathematics in the Sciences and in Society". John von Neumann's address to Princeton alumni (1954) as quoted in "John von Neumann: Collected Works" edited by A. H. Taub, 1963.
