Agreed! There has not been enough appreciation for re-organization efforts of the dependency-tree of knowledge. Now that expansion of the frontier has been somewhat trivialized, it should be an indication that our priorities have not been entirely wise.
The value of these math concepts is in their explanatory power. We want to understand! Insofar as we want to maximize the diffusion of powerful thought-tools, ironing out the wrinkles at the frontier is needed to be able to fold everything up neatly. The benefit we should seek is wide diffusion of powerful theories, and the folding and the neatness has been long undervalued.
The value of these math concepts is in their explanatory power. We want to understand! Insofar as we want to maximize the diffusion of powerful thought-tools, ironing out the wrinkles at the frontier is needed to be able to fold everything up neatly. The benefit we should seek is wide diffusion of powerful theories, and the folding and the neatness has been long undervalued.