Except solving problem is probably the least (even though it's important) interesting thing in research...

The most interesting thing in research is finding new questions, that we understand and that we know why they are important. And that's something that humans need to do (by definition)

I keep hearing this but lots of maths problems are practically important! We want to know the answer because it will be useful for applied science, or statistics, or engineering. It’s not all just about knowledge for its own sake.