I would say that you speak of 'cleverness' instead of laziness. If I look at a problem that looks like a ton of tedious work, it is eminently useful to spend time just thinking about the solution.

If anything, its an appreciation for elegance.

But maybe its just laziness as you say. If a solution looks like a grind, I will spend just as much time trying to find an elegant solution (probably more) because I don't want to just grind out the solution.