Proofs
Stolen and adapted from Joe Wilson.
If the proof of a theorem is not immediately apparent, it may be because you are trying the wrong approach. Below are some effective methods of proof that might aim you in the right direction.
| Name | Statement |
|---|---|
| Proof by obviousness | The proof is so clear that it need not be mentioned. |
| Proof by general agreement | All in favor?… |
| Proof by imagination | Well, we'll pretend it's true… |
| Proof by convenience | It would be very nice if it were true, so… |
| Proof by necessity | It had better be true, or the entire structure of mathematics would crumble to the ground. |
| Proof by plausibility | It sounds good, so it must be true. |
| Proof by intimidation | Don't be stupid; of course it's true! |
| Proof by lack of sufficient time | Because of the time constrait, I'll leave the proof to you. |
| Proof by postponement | The proof for this is long and arduous, so it is given to you in the appendix. |
| Proof by accident | Hey, what have we here?! |
| Proof by insignificance | Who really cares anyway? |
| Proof by mumbo-jumbo | Mumbo-Jumbo |
| Proof by profanity | (example omitted) |
| Proof by definition | We define it to be true. |
| Proof by tautology | It's true because it's true. |
| Proof by plagarism | As we see on page 289,… |
| Proof by lost reference | I know I saw it somewhere…. |
| Proof by calculus | This proof requires calculus, so we'll skip it. |
| Proof by terror | When intimidation fails… |
| Proof by lack of interest | Does anyone really want to see this? |
| Proof by illegibility | Illegibility |
| Proof by logic | If it is on the problem sheet, it must be true! |
| Proof by majority rule | Only to be used if general agreement is impossible. |
| Proof by clever variable choice | Let A be the number such that this proof works… |
| Proof by tessellation | This proof is the same as the last. |
| Proof by divine word | …And the Lord said, ‘Let it be true,’ and it was true. |
| Proof by stubbornness | I don't care what you say- it is true. |
| Proof by simplification | This proof reduced to the statement 1 + 1 = 2. |
| Proof by hasty generalization | Well, it works for 17, so it works for all reals. |
| Proof by deception | Now everyone turn their backs… |
| Proof by supplication | Oh please, let it be true. |
| Proof by poor analogy | Well, it's just like… |
| Proof by avoidance | Limit of proof by postponement as it approaches infinity |
| Proof by design | If it's not true in today's math, invent a new system in which it is. |
| Proof by authority | Well, Don Knuth says it's true, so it must be! |
| Proof by intuition | I have this gut feeling. |
| Proof by Latex | The typesetting is so beautiful that it is proved |
Thaha Mohammed
Doctoral candidate
My research interests include distributed computing, high performance computing, mobile computing and sparse linear algebra.