If math is more than proof, we need to better celebrate the rest of it

Grant Sanderson argues that mathematics should place greater value on "motivated explanations"—clear, intuitive accounts of how mathematicians think through problems—rather than exclusively celebrating proof-generation, especially as AI systems become capable of producing proofs. He contends that elevating the status of exposition and clarification work would better reflect what mathematicians actually contribute to human understanding and help the public appreciate that mathematical research involves more than mechanically generating proofs. Sanderson proposes formally defining and rewarding motivated explanations at an academic level comparable to solving open problems.