Is There Value In Code Uniformity?

There seem to be two opposing views of coding standards.  Some think that they should enforce uniformity in code.  Everyone should use K&R braces, leave two lines between functions, and have a space after the if and before the opening parenthesis.  Others (like me) think that there is little value in uniform-looking code.  The value of coding standards is in their ability to stop bugs from getting into the code.  Patterns that are error-prone, like failing to create a new scope { } for the result of an if statement, should be banned.  Others that are odd but not necessarily error-prone should not.  I'm interested in hearing from you, my readers, on your experience here.  Is there more value in having uniform code than I give it credit for?  Does it really make reading code that much easier?  Do bugs really stand out more or is it just format deviation that stands out?

 

2/20 - Ugh, my spam filter stopped every response to this.  Unblocked now.