Both.

Admittedly, your average person will never use Imaginary Numbers. The reasons they are taught in school is so students can learn about the various different kinds of numbers, and if they get into higher math classes they will have some elementary understanding of them.

For the record, imaginary numbers are used a lot of higher mathematics, and can be used to find outright beautiful things like Euler's formula.

Secondly, the reason why we teach such abstract concepts in high school is so that students can have a wide range of education knowledge so they are free to go into a variety of fields. If we just taught practical things like "how to balance your checkbook" we could let kids out of school at 8th grade like they did in the past. There is more to your education than teaching your average person to get by.

as a math major this image displeases and angers me

>:[