[ISL]

I am a professional in the field :). I make precision experimental tests of gravity.

If a line of physical theory never leads to something testable, is it a physical theory?

Elegance and beauty are major guiding lights for theory, but they can't be the end goal if our desire is to learn the nature of Nature.

Arkani-Hamed and others chasing the physical utility of the Grassmanian are a modern example of beautiful mathematics straining toward physically-testable theory. I expect you'll see more money flowing that way in the next few years.