The joy of research, as described in Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen’s The Rabbit Back Literature Society:

What joy is there in research, anyway? someone had once asked in one of her methodology courses. The teaching assistant’s answer had made an impression on Ella at the time: Research brings order to the world. It makes things clearer, helps us to understand things. Could there be any more joy than that? Did you ever put together puzzles as a child? The universe is a puzzle with billions of pieces. Putting it together is society’s highest shared responsibility, our right and our joy – and not only that, it is what separates us from the whole rest of creation, with a few possible exceptions.