The Logic Off Topic list

>And rightfully so.  Solving a theorem that has puzzled many great 
>mathematicians for some 350 years _is_ a work of art, I guess.

Its not just that. Its hard to explain. There is a beauty in the clever 
and novel ideas, just as there is in the clever use of melody and 
unexpected use of the orchestra or sampler. I don't claim to understand 
Wiles work, but almost all of math has some sort of inherent beauty to 
those who understand it. I personally like Galois's ideas - how he 
abstracted the search for solutions of a polynomial equation, to 
symetries of roots, which lead to group theory, and from that lead to 
proofs of the impossibility of solving the quintic, trisecting an angle, 
and doubling a cube.

Applied math and science people look at things quite differently than 
those in pure math. Pure math degrees are usually ".. of arts", whereas 
all the applied math degrees are "... of science."