Here is a 3-paragraph summary of Grant Sanderson's blog post for mathopen.com:
Many mathematicians are beginning to openly acknowledge something that has long been felt but rarely stated: solving problems and writing proofs are not the ultimate goal of mathematics. They are proxies for something deeper. The real aim is understanding, and the field may be doing itself a disservice by treating formal proof as the primary measure of mathematical achievement.
Sanderson argues that a significant portion of what makes mathematics valuable and beautiful falls outside the boundaries of traditional proof. Intuition, visualization, explanation, and the ability to make ideas genuinely clear to others all contribute to mathematical progress, yet the community has few reliable ways to recognize or reward these contributions. A researcher who builds a stunning conceptual framework or communicates a difficult idea with rare clarity may receive far less credit than one who produces a novel but narrowly technical result.
The post is ultimately a call to action for the mathematics community to broaden how it defines and celebrates mathematical work. If the field continues to treat proof as the only currency of serious contribution, it risks overlooking some of its most valuable thinkers and discouraging the kind of deep, communicable understanding that makes mathematics worth doing in the first place. Better recognition of explanation, pedagogy, and insight could help mathematics grow in ways that pure formalism alone cannot.