Claim Researchers should not limit their investigations to only those areas in which they expect to discover something that has an immediate practical application Reason It is impossible to predict the outcome of a line of research with any certainty Writ

Research is of vital importance in this competitive world of ours. We cannot undergo developments without serious research works being conducted. People who pursue research are regarded with high prestige and are considered equivalent to gods for they gift the society with mind-boggling findings and inventions. Research work requires lots of patience and diligent efforts to achieve success. In today's world, many people just want to make as much money as possible in the shortest possible time by doing a cozy job or involving in a business. In such a scenario, it is highly contentious to limit the research works to areas that have immediate practical application. A stand can be taken on this issue only after a careful analysis.

Firstly, the ultimate aim of research is to firmly establish a new concept. It seems so that concepts are useless unless they apply in some manner fulfilling the needs of the society. On the contrary, in reality, all fruits of renowned scientists which we enjoy now were not highly regarded during those scientists' period. For instance, we cannot even imagine traveling to another country without the help of aeroplanes. But in the olden days, long journeys were carried out by ships or through walks with periodic rests. We now realize that Wright brothers have gone a long way in inventing aeroplanes for making our long journeys easier and enjoyable. The application of the discovered results of a research is analysed on-the-go and not as and when the results are produced. Therefore, even if the research results does not result in an immediate practical application, they may sometime in future turn out to be the most important discoveries. Newton's theory of gravitation and Einstein's theory of relativity seemed to be of trivial importance when they were put forth before the society. On the other hand, today, most of the concepts in physics could not establish their results without considering the implications of these theories. Research done in any field will always have utility. But it might not be relevant in the initial stages after research work is being completed.

Secondly, the time and effort required to carry out a research work is tremendous, to the extent of not justifying the compulsion of any practical application. Huge amounts of money is also spent by governments of countries like the United States of America in order to make their nations forefront in the area of research. Unlike other projects, a research project's consequences cannot be determined beforehand. For instance, installation of nuclear power-plant in an area in order to compensate for the electricity shortage might be a good move. The scientists and Civil Engineers might also undergo an extensive research about the targeted place in order to effectively design a nuclear power-plant. But there exists a possibility of the untoward incidents happening in case of leakage in the nuclear plant. The damage that it would cause cannot be estimated and pre-cautionary measures can be taken only to an extent so as to assuage the severity of the purported damages. Therefore, uncertainty in research works should not prevent one from carrying out them. Risks are meant to be taken in most cases to come out with flying colors in the field of research. For example, 'Artificial Intelligence' in the field of computer science was touted to be the active research field in the 1990's. After a decade, the research works became dull in this area due to the fear of failure. But, now this field has again gained momentum and countries are competing to bring out a perfect humanoid robot. Therefore, considering the complexity of research work, too much of thinking must not happen prior to the start of a research.

Everyone today wants to do their activities in a jiffy. Subsequently, they look forward to exciting gadgets and appliances to make their life easier. However, there exists another part of the society beyond the common people. The teachers, doctors, engineers etc... also require help in their profession. Hence, research works must be evenly carried out across all the fields. Some might be of the opinion that a research-work is not worth pursuing, if it does not cater to the uses of majority of the people. However, all the professions are interlinked. For example, if a serious disease rocks the world tomorrow, then the medical researchers have to come up with a promising treatment or a medication; Otherwise, the disease will make a huge impact and affect people from all walks of life. Same is the case with computers which are operated by almost all professionals. As a result, all fields are interlinked and necessary to ensure healthy and comfortable survival of the humanity.

Thus, I completely agree with the claim that researchers should not restrict themselves to areas which have potential applications. As quoted in the reason, the output of research works cannot be determined with accuracy. Hence research works are to be carried out by the individuals out of their own interest. Researchers ought to devote their time in finding new concepts and leaving the application-part of it to the society. For example, Ramnujam's mathematical derivations were not of much use in his days. But today, they are highly regarded and researchers are still working on his theorems to make new implications. Research works take a humongous amount of time and sincere effort to establish something worthwhile and research in all fields is necessary to ensure a better living.