JargonFile/entries/elegant.txt
2014-04-26 16:54:15 +01:00

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elegant
adj. [common; from mathematical usage] Combining simplicity, power, and a
certain ineffable grace of design. Higher praise than clever , winning , or
even cuspy. The French aviator, adventurer, and author Antoine de
Saint-Exupry, probably best known for his classic children's book The Little
Prince , was also an aircraft designer. He gave us perhaps the best
definition of engineering elegance when he said A designer knows he has
achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.