All the hang-wringing about elegant mathematics misses the point. An elegant theory is one that captures a lot of complexity with a minimal description. That so

All the hang-wringing about elegant mathematics misses the point. An elegant theory is one that captures a lot of complexity with a minimal description. That some small number of assumptions goes on to describe a multitude of phenomena is the mark of a good theory. Given the choice between an elegant theory and an inelegant one that describes the same data, the elegant one is more likely to be true. If there are problems with modern physics, its not that we're spending time looking for elegant theories.