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36
Humorous Methods of Proof
We
read these,and we simply had to share them.
Anyone who has ever fought with a proof will love
this list.
Enjoy!
themathlab.com staff
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| 1 |
Proof
by obviousness |
"The proof is so clear that it need not
be mentioned." |
| 2 |
Proof
by general agreement |
"All in favor?..." |
| 3 |
Proof
by imagination |
"Well, we'll pretend it's true..." |
| 4 |
Proof
by convenience |
"It would be very nice if it were true,
so..." |
| 5 |
Proof
by necessity |
"It had better be true, or the entire structure
of mathematics would crumble to the ground." |
| 6 |
Proof
by plausibility |
"It sounds good so it must be true." |
| 7 |
Proof
by intimidation |
"Don't be stupid; of course it's true." |
| 8 |
Proof
by lack of sufficient time |
"Because of the time constraint, I'll leave
the proof to you." |
| 9 |
Proof
by postponement |
"The proof for this is long and arduous,
so it is given in the appendix."
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| 10 |
Proof
by accident |
"Hey, what have we here?!" |
| 11 |
Proof
by insignificance |
"Who really cares, anyway?" |
| 12 |
Proof
by mumbo-jumbo |
 |
| 13 |
Proof
by profanity |
(example omitted) |
| 14 |
Proof
by definition |
"We define it to be true." |
| 15 |
Proof
by tautology |
It's true because it's true." |
| 16 |
Proof
by plagiarism |
"As we see on page 289,..." |
| 17 |
Proof
by lost reference |
"I know I saw it somewhere..." |
| 18 |
Proof
by calculus |
"This proof requires calculus, so we'll
skip it." |
| 19 |
Proof
by terror |
When intimidation fails... |
| 20 |
Proof
by lack of interest |
"Does anyone really want to see this?" |
| 21 |
Proof
by illegibility |
 |
| 22 |
Proof
by logic |
"If it is on the problem sheet, then it
must be true!" |
| 23 |
Proof
by majority rule |
"Only to be used if general agreement is
impossible." |
| 24 |
Proof
by clever variable choice |
"Let A be the number such that this proof
works..." |
| 25 |
Proof
by tessellation |
"This proof works the same as the last." |
| 26 |
Proof
by divine word |
"...And the Lord said, 'Let it be true,'
and it was true." |
| 27 |
Proof
by stubbornness |
"I don't care what you say-it is true!" |
| 28 |
Proof
by simplification |
"This proof reduces to the statement 1+1=2." |
| 29 |
Proof
by hasty generalization |
"Well, it works for 17, so it works for
all real numbers." |
| 30 |
Proof
by deception |
"Now everyone turn their backs..."
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| 31 |
Proof
by supplication |
"Oh please, let it be true." |
| 32 |
Proof
by poor analogy |
"Well, it's just like..." |
| 33 |
Proof
by avoidance |
Limit of proof by postponement as it approaches
infinity |
| 34 |
Proof
by design |
If it's not true in today's math, invent a new
system in which it is. |
| 35 |
Proof
by authority |
"Well, Ruth Kraus says it's true, so it
must be!" |
| 36 |
Proof
by intuition |
"I just have this gut feeling..." |
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