Should a Scientist Be Elegant?

In a recent article, we argued that elegance is—or, better, should be—a central goal of scientific research (Nathan and Brancaccio, 2013). While researchers often praise the elegance and beauty of theories and experiments, elegance itself is usually treated as an accessory ornament and not a goal of science per se. Against this view, we suggested that elegance is an intrinsic feature of successful scientific practice, which should be actively pursued in our work. Just like other ‘theoretical virtues’—such as accuracy, generality, and testability—elegance is a benchmark that demarcates good from bad science and, consequently, it should not be confined to grant proposals and coffee breaks; elegance belongs inside the lab. The goal of this essay is to elaborate and refine our conception of the role of elegance in science. We begin with a summary of our main proposal. Next, we clarify our position by addressing some objections that have been raised against our view, both in conversation and in writing.