Elegant Equations.

RE EQUATIONS BEAUTIFUL? TO SCIENTISTS, FORMULAS’ ABILITY TO represent fundamental truths or concisely capture complexity is indeed exquisite. To many in the public, though, they can be the opposite of beautiful—intimidating, utilitarian and opaque. Yet for others, the very mystery can be alluring: even when we cannot understand what equations say, we can be moved by knowing they have meanings beyond our comprehension. And mathematicians and nonmathematicians alike can be drawn in by the purely aesthetic appeal of these expressions, whose graceful and sometimes inscrutable symbols combine in visually satisfying ways.