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Proof By Intimidation
Proof by intimidation (or ''argumentum verbosum'') is a humorous phrase used mainly in mathematics to refer to a specific form of hand-waving whereby one attempts to advance an argument by giving an argument loaded with jargon and obscure results or by marking it as obvious or trivial. It attempts to intimidate the audience into simply accepting the result without evidence by appealing to their ignorance or lack of understanding. The phrase is often used when the author is an authority in their field, presenting their proof to people who respect ''a priori'' the author's insistence of the validity of the proof, while in other cases, the author might simply claim that their statement is true because it is trivial or because they say so. Usage of this phrase is for the most part in good humour, though it can also appear in serious criticism. A proof by intimidation is often associated with phrases such as: * "Clearly..." * "It is self-evident that..." * "It can be easily shown tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include number theory (the study of numbers), algebra (the study of formulas and related structures), geometry (the study of shapes and spaces that contain them), Mathematical analysis, analysis (the study of continuous changes), and set theory (presently used as a foundation for all mathematics). Mathematics involves the description and manipulation of mathematical object, abstract objects that consist of either abstraction (mathematics), abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicspurely abstract entities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. Mathematics uses pure reason to proof (mathematics), prove properties of objects, a ''proof'' consisting of a succession of applications of in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French polymath, a scholar whose work has been instrumental in the fields of physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, statistics, and philosophy. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five-volume Traité de mécanique céleste, ''Mécanique céleste'' (''Celestial Mechanics'') (1799–1825). This work translated the geometric study of classical mechanics to one based on calculus, opening up a broader range of problems. Laplace also popularized and further confirmed Isaac Newton, Sir Isaac Newton's work. In statistics, the Bayesian probability, Bayesian interpretation of probability was developed mainly by Laplace. Laplace formulated Laplace's equation, and pioneered the Laplace transform which appears in many branches of mathematical physics, a field that he took a leading role in forming. The Laplace operator, Laplacian differential operator, widely used in mathematic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In-jokes
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke with humour that is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It is, therefore, an wikt:esoteric, esoteric joke, only humorous to those who are aware of the circumstances behind it. Typically, inside jokes use a reference in the punchline to imply that which is associated with the reference. Often, this reference refers to the punchline of another joke which was already heard by the ingroup. In-jokes may exist within a small social clique, such as a group of friends, or extend to an entire profession or other relatively large group. When the ingroup only includes people which heard the previous portion of a comedic set, the type of inside joke is known as a Callback (comedy), callback. An example is: ::Q: What's yellow and equivalent to the axiom of choice? ::A: Zorn's lemon. Individuals not famili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematical Proofs
A mathematical proof is a deductive argument for a mathematical statement, showing that the stated assumptions logically guarantee the conclusion. The argument may use other previously established statements, such as theorems; but every proof can, in principle, be constructed using only certain basic or original assumptions known as axioms, along with the accepted rules of inference. Proofs are examples of exhaustive deductive reasoning that establish logical certainty, to be distinguished from empirical arguments or non-exhaustive inductive reasoning that establish "reasonable expectation". Presenting many cases in which the statement holds is not enough for a proof, which must demonstrate that the statement is true in ''all'' possible cases. A proposition that has not been proved but is believed to be true is known as a conjecture, or a hypothesis if frequently used as an assumption for further mathematical work. Proofs employ logic expressed in mathematical symbols, along wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Humor
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skills necessary to perform their specific role within that profession. In addition, most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct, enshrining rigorous ethical and moral obligations. Professional standards of practice and ethics for a particular field are typically agreed upon and maintained through widely recognized professional associations, such as the IEEE. Some definitions of "professional" limit this term to those professions that serve some important aspect of public interest and the general good of society.Sullivan, William M. (2nd ed. 2005). ''Work and Integrity: The Crisis and Promise of Professionalism in America''. Jossey Bass.Gardner, Howard and Shulman, Lee S., The Professions in America Today: Crucial but Fragile. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; 19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian Americans, Indian-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge about the structure of stars, stellar evolution and black holes. He was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics along with William Alfred Fowler, William A. Fowler for theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars. His mathematical treatment of stellar evolution yielded many of the current theoretical models of the later evolutionary stages of massive stars and black holes. Many concepts, institutions and inventions, including the Chandrasekhar limit and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, are named after him. Chandrasekhar worked on a wide variety of problems in physics during his lifetime, contributing to the contemporary understanding of stellar structure, white dwarfs, stellar dynamics, stochastic process, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Feller
William "Vilim" Feller (July 7, 1906 – January 14, 1970), born Vilibald Srećko Feller, was a Croatian–American mathematician specializing in probability theory. Early life and education Feller was born in Zagreb to Ida Oemichen-Perc, a Croatian–Austrian Catholic, and Eugen Viktor Feller, son of a Polish–Jewish father (David Feller) and an Austrian mother (Elsa Holzer). Eugen Feller was a famous chemist and created ''Elsa fluid'' named after his mother. According to Gian-Carlo Rota, Eugen Feller's surname was a "Slavic tongue twister", which William changed at the age of twenty. This claim appears to be false. His forename, Vilibald, was chosen by his Catholic mother for the saint day of his birthday. Career and later life Feller held a docent position at the University of Kiel beginning in 1928. Because he refused to sign a Nazi oath, he fled the Nazis and went to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1933. He also lectured in Sweden (Stockholm and Lund). As a refugee in Sweden, Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Kac
Mark Kac ( ; Polish: ''Marek Kac''; August 3, 1914 – October 26, 1984) was a Polish-American mathematician. His main interest was probability theory. His question, " Can one hear the shape of a drum?" set off research into spectral theory, the idea of understanding the extent to which the spectrum allows one to read back the geometry. In the end, the answer was generally "no". Early life and education He was born to a Polish-Jewish family; their town, Kremenets ( Polish: "Krzemieniec"), changed hands from the Russian Empire (by then Soviet Ukraine) to Poland after the Peace of Riga, when Kac was a child.Obituary in ''Rochester Democrat & Chronicle'', 11 November 1984 Kac completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at the Polish [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gian-Carlo Rota
Gian-Carlo Rota (April 27, 1932 – April 18, 1999) was an Italian-American mathematician and philosopher. He spent most of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked in combinatorics, functional analysis, probability theory, and phenomenology. Early life and education Rota was born in Vigevano, Italy. His father, Giovanni, an architect and prominent antifascist, was the brother of the mathematician Rosetta, who was the wife of the writer Ennio Flaiano. Gian-Carlo's family left Italy when he was 13 years old, initially going to Switzerland. Rota attended the Colegio Americano de Quito in Ecuador, and graduated with an A.B. in mathematics from Princeton University in 1953 after completing a senior thesis, titled "On the solubility of linear equations in topological vector spaces", under the supervision of William Feller. He then pursued graduate studies at Yale University, where he received a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1956 after completing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathaniel Bowditch
Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navigator'', first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S. Naval vessel. Life and work Nathaniel Bowditch, the fourth of seven children, was born in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Habakkuk Bowditch, a cooper who at one point was a sailor as well but stopped after his ship went aground in 1775, and Mary Ingersoll Bowditch. At the age of ten, he was made to leave school to work in his father's cooperage, before becoming indentured at twelve for nine years as a bookkeeping apprentice to a ship chandler. Here is where he first learned bookkeeping, an important step in his life. In 1786, age fourteen, Bowditch began to study algebra and two years later he taught himself calculus. He also taught himsel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo A
Leo A (also known as Leo III) is an irregular galaxy that is part of the Local Group. It lies 2.6 million light-years from Earth, and was discovered by Fritz Zwicky in 1942. The estimated mass of this galaxy is solar masses, with at least 80% consisting of dark matter. It is one of the most isolated galaxies in the Local Group and shows no indications of an interaction or merger for several billion years. However, Leo A is nearly unique among irregular galaxies in that more than 90% of its stars formed more recently than 8 billion years ago, suggesting a rather unusual evolutionary history. The presence of RR Lyrae variables shows that the galaxy has an old stellar population that is up to 10 billion years in age. The neutral hydrogen in this galaxy occupies in a volume similar to its optical extent, and is distributed in a squashed, uneven ring. The galaxy is not rotating and the hydrogen is moving about in random clumps. The proportion of elements with higher atomic numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hand-waving
Hand-waving (with various spellings) is a pejorative label for attempting to be seen as effective – in word, reasoning, or deed – while actually doing nothing effective or substantial. Cites the ''Random House Dictionary'' and ''The Dictionary of American Slang'' 4th ed. It is often applied to debating techniques that involve fallacies, misdirection and the glossing over of details. Online edition:Homepagementions a ver. 4.4.8, but the text of the work say It is also used academically to indicate unproven claims and skipped steps in proofs (sometimes intentionally, as in lectures and instructional materials), with some specific meanings in particular fields, including literary criticism, speculative fiction, mathematics, logic, science and engineering. The term can additionally be used in work situations, when attempts are made to display productivity or assure accountability without actually resulting in them. The term can also be used as a self-admission of, and suggestion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
