My time spent learning algorithms and mathemathics that bore me with lack of practicality could be spent working on my own projects...
What do you think, is a degree in CS important for someone who is able to employ himself and (soon) others?
Sure, they needed to learn to hustle, too, but knowing algorithms sure did help them a lot getting to where they are now.
"One student showed me her resume: it showed perfect GPA, lots of classes with impressive-sounding titles. But no summer job, no internship, no side project.
Another student showed me a less than perfect resume, but it had all kinds of extra-curricular projects and activities, showing exposure to technologies, people and business challenges." (from http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/05/13/being-a-new-cs-grad-...)
How you answer that may help you.
My experience as a student of CS is that you are taught principles that will most likely stay the same for the next 10-40 years. Besides that, every talented student i've met so far figured most of these principles out for themselves before deciding to study cs. Either they learned it out of own interest or just concluded them out of the it world they were presented at the time.
There are a lot of students at my university who put lots of hard hours into learning the cs just because they hope to earn a lot at a stable job with the degree and i don't judge them for their goal, but i wouldn't be interested as an employer in one of them because from my experience the ideas needed for innovation aren't born in a grinding mind.
Also, regarding your final paragraph, innovation isn't the only valuable attribute. The best innovators aren't necessarily the best finishers. A well rounded team needs both to deliver a good product.
I know you were giving your opinion; just trying to provide an alternative point of view.