Elegance

Elegance of the Epoque by Frédéric Soulacroix

An example of "beauty in method"—a simple and elegant proof of the Pythagorean theorem.

Elegance is beauty that shows unusual effectiveness and simplicity. It is frequently used as a standard of tastefulness particularly in the areas of visual design, decoration, the sciences, and the aesthetics of mathematics. Elegant things exhibit refined grace and dignified propriety.

General concept

Essential components of the concept include simplicity and consistency of design, focusing on the essential features of an object. In art of any kind one might also require dignified grace, or restrained beauty of style.

Visual stimuli are frequently considered elegant if a small number of colors and stimuli are used, emphasizing the remainder.

In philosophy of science

In the philosophy of science, there are two concepts referring to two aspects of simplicity. Elegance (syntactic simplicity) means the number and complexity of hypotheses. Parsimony (ontological simplicity) is the number and complexity of things postulated.^[1]

In mathematics

The proof of a mathematical theorem exhibits mathematical elegance if it is surprisingly simple yet effective and constructive; similarly, a computer program or algorithm is elegant if it uses a small amount of code to great effect.^[2][3]

In engineering

In engineering, a solution may be considered elegant if it uses a non-obvious method to produce a solution which is highly effective and simple. An elegant solution may solve multiple problems at once, especially problems not thought to be inter-related.^[4]

In chemistry

In chemistry, chemists might look for elegance in theory and method, in technique and procedure. For example: elegance might comprise creative parsimony and versatility in the utilization of resources, in the manipulation of materials, and in effectiveness in syntheses and analysis.

In pharmacy

In pharmacy, elegance in formulation is important for quality as well as effectiveness in dosage form design, a major component of pharmaceutics.

References

1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
2. Perrin, Chad (16 August 2006). "ITLOG Import: Elegance". Chad Perrin: SOB.
3. Spolsky, Joel (15 December 2006). "Elegance". Joel on Software.
4. Zeldes, Nathan (2007). "Ingenious simplicity". Nathan's Possibly Interesting Web Site. Retrieved 11 October 2011.

Further reading

• Schiro, Anne-Marie (30 August 1988). "For Galanos, Elegance Is Eternal". The New York Times.