Academic question

noun

a query which has an interesting answer but is of no practical use or importance
Examples

Spending is not an academic question.
Historical Examples

Whether the oligarchy or its assassin was the more loathsome still remains an academic question, debatable only in an idle hour.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte William Milligan Sloane

The advocacy of independence, said the Globe, could not be treated as an academic question.
George Brown John Lewis

Whether or not we were creatures of atrophied brains and distorted vision is an academic question.
The Portal of Dreams Charles Neville Buck

It was answered that these positions and his arguments addressed to the academic question were irreconcilable and incompatible.
The Felon’s Track Michael Doheny

He had not wanted a theological discussion, an academic question and reply.
The Altar Steps Compton MacKenzie

And, again, it must be said emphatically that this is not an academic question, dealing with unreal distinctions.
The Unpopular Review Vol. I Various

But the contention throws us back upon the academic question of what a suzerainty is.
The War in South Africa Arthur Conan Doyle

To all, from this time, child labor would no longer be an academic question but a vivid reality.
The Shadow Mary White Ovington

It is still an academic question whether or not the marriage of a brother and sister both born illegitimate is prohibited.
Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World Hyacinthe Ringrose

Up to this time the suffrage was a theory, an academic question of right and justice.
What eight million women want Rheta Childe Dorr