Knowledge (XXG)

Proof by intimidation

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Newton’s astonishing grasp of the entire problem of planetary perturbations and the power of his insight are clearly apparent, this part of the Principia is also among the most difficult to grasp because of the paucity of any real explanation and an apparent attempt to conceal details by recourse,
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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
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He took umbrage when someone interrupted his lecturing by pointing out some glaring mistake. He became red in the face and raised his voice, often to full shouting range. It was reported that on occasion he had asked the objector to leave the classroom. The expression "proof by intimidation" was
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coined after Feller's lectures (by Mark Kac). During a Feller lecture, the hearer was made to feel privy to some wondrous secret, one that often vanished by magic as he walked out of the classroom at the end of the period. Like many great teachers, Feller was a bit of a con man.
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too often, to phrases like “hence it comes to pass”, “by like reasoning”, and “it is manifest that” at crucial points of the argument. This “secretive style” is nowhere present, to the same extent, in the Principia.
116:. At this, Hal Caswell remarked, "With all due respect to Fisher, I have yet to meet anyone who finds this equation 'easily seen.'" Valid proofs were provided by subsequent researchers such as 486:"An elementary approach to the population projection-matrix, to the population reproductive value, and to related topics in the mathematical theory of population growth" 183: 187: 108:
claimed in the book credited with the new evolutionary synthesis, "...by the analogy of compound interest the present value of the future offspring of persons aged
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is thrown aside in favour of dubious arguments—such as those presented to the public by articulate advocates who pose as experts in their field.
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whereby one attempts to advance an argument by giving an argument loaded with jargon and obscure results or by marking it as obvious or
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The phrase is often used when the author is an authority in their field, presenting their proof to people who respect
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is easily seen to be...", thence presenting a novel integral-laden definition of
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Marjorie K. Jeffcoat (July 2003). "Junk science: Appearances can be deceiving".
252: 246: 53: 49: 511: 26:"Proof by verbosity" redirects here. For the repetition-related fallacy, see 445: 379: 169: 422: 128: 93:
Outside mathematics, "proof by intimidation" is also cited by critics of
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claimed that the expression "proof by intimidation" was coined by
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intimidation is often associated with phrases such as:
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Proof by intimidation may also back valid assertions.
255: â€“ Term for attempting to be seen as effective 273: â€“ Teacher in ancient Greece (5th century BC) 147: 86:"The proof is left as an exercise for the reader." 463:. Sinauer Associates, Incorporated. p. 92. 154:. Palombi, Fabrizio, 1965–. Boston: Birkhäuser. 195: 137: 8: 182:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( 440:. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. p. 27. 402:Journal of the American Dental Association 186:) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( 30:. For the ceaseless-argument fallacy, see 501: 438:The genetical theory of natural selection 261: â€“ Practice of obscuring information 16:Marking an argument as obvious or trivial 210:Newton's Principia for the common reader 283: 175: 496:(1). Duke University Press: 382–409. 146:Rota, Gian-Carlo, 1932–1999. (1997). 7: 131:, to describe a technique used by 14: 353:"Richard Feynman and computation" 267: â€“ Erroneous method of proof 80:"It can be easily shown that..." 415:10.14219/jada.archive.2003.0268 83:"... does not warrant a proof." 52:to refer to a specific form of 484:Goodman, Leo A. (1968-03-01). 436:Fisher, Ronald Aylmer (1930). 1: 326:Annals of Improbable Research 97:, to describe cases in which 249: â€“ Rhetorical technique 77:"It is self-evident that..." 576: 208:Chandrasekhar, S. (1995). 204:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar 25: 18: 316:Michael H. F. Wilkinson. 461:Matrix Population Models 19:Not to be confused with 380:10.1080/001075199181459 297:logicallyfallacious.com 293:"Proof by Intimidation" 235:Argument from authority 226: 194: 48:phrase used mainly in 459:Caswell, Hal (2001). 38:Proof by intimidation 32:argumentum ad nauseam 21:Argumentum ad baculum 360:Contemporary Physics 545:Mathematical proofs 372:1999ConPh..40..257H 150:Indiscrete thoughts 99:scientific evidence 42:argumentum verbosum 555:Mathematical humor 540:Professional humor 503:10.1007/bf03208583 114:reproductive value 89:"It is trivial..." 28:Proof by assertion 351:Tony Hey (1999). 241:Chewbacca defense 219:978-0-19-851744-3 135:in his lectures: 567: 524: 523: 505: 481: 475: 474: 456: 450: 449: 433: 427: 426: 396: 390: 389: 387: 386: 357: 348: 342: 341: 339: 338: 322: 313: 307: 306: 304: 303: 288: 265:Proof by example 224: 223: 192: 191: 181: 173: 153: 106:Ronald A. Fisher 575: 574: 570: 569: 568: 566: 565: 564: 560:English phrases 530: 529: 528: 527: 483: 482: 478: 471: 458: 457: 453: 435: 434: 430: 398: 397: 393: 384: 382: 355: 350: 349: 345: 336: 334: 320: 315: 314: 310: 301: 299: 290: 289: 285: 280: 231: 225: 220: 207: 202: 193: 174: 162: 145: 144: 125:Gian-Carlo Rota 35: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 573: 571: 563: 562: 557: 552: 547: 542: 532: 531: 526: 525: 476: 469: 451: 428: 409:(7): 802–803. 391: 366:(4): 257–265. 343: 308: 282: 281: 279: 276: 275: 274: 268: 262: 256: 250: 244: 238: 230: 227: 218: 200: 160: 142: 133:William Feller 118:Leo A. Goodman 91: 90: 87: 84: 81: 78: 75: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 572: 561: 558: 556: 553: 551: 548: 546: 543: 541: 538: 537: 535: 521: 517: 513: 509: 504: 499: 495: 491: 487: 480: 477: 472: 470:0-87893-096-5 466: 462: 455: 452: 447: 443: 439: 432: 429: 424: 420: 416: 412: 408: 404: 403: 395: 392: 381: 377: 373: 369: 365: 361: 354: 347: 344: 332: 328: 327: 319: 312: 309: 298: 294: 291:Bennett, Bo. 287: 284: 277: 272: 269: 266: 263: 260: 257: 254: 251: 248: 245: 242: 239: 236: 233: 232: 228: 221: 215: 211: 205: 199: 189: 185: 179: 171: 167: 163: 161:0-8176-3866-0 157: 152: 151: 141: 136: 134: 130: 126: 123:In a memoir, 121: 119: 115: 111: 107: 102: 100: 96: 88: 85: 82: 79: 76: 73: 72: 71: 68: 67: 61: 59: 55: 51: 47: 43: 39: 33: 29: 22: 493: 489: 479: 460: 454: 437: 431: 406: 400: 394: 383:. Retrieved 363: 359: 346: 335:. Retrieved 330: 324: 311: 300:. Retrieved 296: 286: 259:Obscurantism 209: 196: 149: 138: 122: 109: 103: 95:junk science 92: 74:"Clearly..." 65: 62: 41: 37: 36: 253:Hand-waving 247:Gish gallop 54:hand-waving 50:mathematics 534:Categories 490:Demography 385:2008-02-22 337:2008-02-22 333:(5): 15–16 302:2019-12-01 278:References 512:0070-3370 178:cite book 550:In-jokes 520:46970216 446:18500548 423:12892436 229:See also 201:—  170:34029702 143:—  129:Mark Kac 120:(1968). 66:a priori 368:Bibcode 271:Sophist 58:trivial 46:jocular 44:) is a 518:  510:  467:  444:  421:  216:  168:  158:  516:S2CID 356:(PDF) 321:(PDF) 508:ISSN 465:ISBN 442:OCLC 419:PMID 214:ISBN 188:link 184:link 166:OCLC 156:ISBN 40:(or 498:doi 411:doi 407:134 376:doi 536:: 514:. 506:. 492:. 488:. 417:. 405:. 374:. 364:40 362:. 358:. 329:. 323:. 295:. 206:, 180:}} 176:{{ 164:. 522:. 500:: 494:5 473:. 448:. 425:. 413:: 388:. 378:: 370:: 340:. 331:6 305:. 222:. 190:) 172:. 110:x 34:. 23:.

Index

Argumentum ad baculum
Proof by assertion
argumentum ad nauseam
jocular
mathematics
hand-waving
trivial
a priori
junk science
scientific evidence
Ronald A. Fisher
reproductive value
Leo A. Goodman
Gian-Carlo Rota
Mark Kac
William Feller
Indiscrete thoughts
ISBN
0-8176-3866-0
OCLC
34029702
cite book
link
link
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
ISBN
978-0-19-851744-3
Argument from authority
Chewbacca defense
Gish gallop

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