Here is what the great American biologist EO Wilson has to say about a scientific theory: "The elegance, we can fairly say the beauty, of any particular scientific generalisation is measured by its simplicity relative to the number of phenomena it can explain".
The elucidation of the subversion of host mechanisms to promote bacterial virulence has been of major scientific interest, reflecting the elegance and sophistication of these mechanisms.
Curiel goes on to question, more generally, the ranking of approaches to quantum gravity given what he views as the absence of demonstrated scientific merit in any of them: elegance and consistency might well be merits of a scientific theory, but they do not count as scientific.
This may just reflect the fact that considerations linked to elegance are so pervasive in scientific theory choice as to be unremarkable as a topic for special study.
It also promises "scientific and technical innovations, cultural effervescence and Parisian elegance".
One can develop a fairly good understanding of the power and elegance of calculus, say, without actually being able to use it to solve scientific or engineering problems.
In verse there was a general return to classical models and elegance, while in prose Latin was still a necessary medium for the abundant humanistic, scientific, philosophical, and religious literature that was a mark of the new age.
Of course arriving at scientific truth is not simple in the least, but throughout both books the authors convey the elegance and great simplicity behind the principles and theories that so many people have worked so hard to elucidate.
But it is the awe that he inspires in his scientific colleagues that best illuminates his position in neuroscience, where the originality of his thinking and the simple elegance of his experiments give him a unique status.
