I agree in general. I have a PhD in comp eng and know a lot of academia type subjects, but only a small portion is especially useful in a practical setting. Also a lot of academic knowledge seems needlessly obtuse. It becomes a lot clearer when looking at the practical problems that spurred the academic fields. At times I get the aha as to why this abstract concept is addressing a meaningful question, and if that's how academic education oriented itself, around these basic meaningful questions it would help people learn much more effectively.