> 1. To feel smart 2. To justify our paycheck Finally someone on HN is being honest. It's also a good touch that this is downvoted somewhat while replies getti

> 1. To feel smart 2. To justify our paycheck Finally someone on HN is being honest. It's also a good touch that this is downvoted somewhat while replies getting mad at essentially choice of words (of the title, nonetheless) are on top. Doing the elegant solution was the first thing I learned in grad school, it was literally a comment a professor made. In undergraduate, you feel smart for working out a long calculation. In grad school and beyond, you should feel smart by doing the least math possible and using intuition. It's not that long calculations aren't necessary, it's just that thinking a little first is important rather than just turning the hard work crank.