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#1 2006-05-09 13:16:18
- Ricky
- Moderator
- Registered: 2005-12-04
- Posts: 3,791
Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Ever had to write a proof on a test and you just have no clue what to do? Try one of these:
Proof by intimidation: I think it's true. I DARE you to prove me wrong. Therefore it is true.
Proof by future knowledge: After this test, I will go home and work on it till I prove it's true. Since it will be proven true in the future, it must be true now as well.
Proof by I don't want to fail: If I write any sort of a disproof, you will mark it wrong. Therefore, it must be true.
Proof by I know the history of math: I have a truly marvelous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.
Or the original latin if you got a good memory:
Cuius rei demonstrationem mirabilem sane detexi. Hanc marginis exiguitas non caperet.
Feel free to submit your own. Be creative, but posting something you heard from somewhere else is fine too.
"In the real world, this would be a problem. But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist. So we'll go ahead and do that now..."
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#2 2006-05-09 14:10:35
- John E. Franklin
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- Registered: 2005-08-29
- Posts: 3,588
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof of Easy: What part of "It's just obvious." don't you understand?
Proof of Atoms: Breaking down the obvious into smaller interacting parts will just make it more complicated and harder to prove.
igloo myrtilles fourmis
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#3 2006-05-09 17:37:25
- Jai Ganesh
- Administrator
- Registered: 2005-06-28
- Posts: 48,385
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by contradiction : It cannot be false, therefore, it is true! 
It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.
Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.
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#4 2006-05-09 23:34:48
- MathsIsFun
- Administrator
- Registered: 2005-01-21
- Posts: 7,713
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
They are all excellent!
Proof by Induction: 1) The first ever such question was proven true 2) Professors copy older exam questions with only trivial changes. 3) So this question must prove to be true also.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#5 2006-05-10 05:36:24
- mikau
- Member
- Registered: 2005-08-22
- Posts: 1,504
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by my teacher said it was true. How can he mark that wrong? ;-)
A logarithm is just a misspelled algorithm.
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#6 2006-05-10 06:13:05
- Patrick
- Real Member
- Registered: 2006-02-24
- Posts: 1,005
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by Mod/Admin: "Prove me wrong, and I'll delete your post + ban you. Therefore I'll always be right."
Last edited by Patrick (2006-05-10 10:11:34)
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#7 2006-05-10 09:33:19
- MathsIsFun
- Administrator
- Registered: 2005-01-21
- Posts: 7,713
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by Photos: I have some interesting photos you wouldn't want published, so let's just agree that this is true, OK?
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#8 2006-05-10 09:42:15
- mikau
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- Registered: 2005-08-22
- Posts: 1,504
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
lol!
A logarithm is just a misspelled algorithm.
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#9 2006-05-10 10:50:55
- Ricky
- Moderator
- Registered: 2005-12-04
- Posts: 3,791
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by Photos: I have some interesting photos you wouldn't want published, so let's just agree that this is true, OK?
Is that a corollary to proof by intimidation?
Proof by perfection: So far, I have never been wrong. I say the proof is true. By induction, it is true.
Which reminds me of this:
"Are you ever wrong?"
"I thought I was once, but it turned out I was mistaken."
"In the real world, this would be a problem. But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist. So we'll go ahead and do that now..."
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#10 2006-05-10 11:42:59
- ryos
- Member
- Registered: 2005-08-04
- Posts: 394
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by flattery: Wow, that theorem is exceptionally elegant. Its sheer beauty suggests its veracity. It's too pretty to be false. I salute you!
Proof by ignorance: If there's something wrong with it, I can't see it. Must be true.
Proof by relativism: This theorem is true to me. You may have your own truth, and I respect that; please, then, respect mine.
Proof by quantum mechanics: > <---Right there is a quantum singularity that should (cross your fingers) expand into the correct proof when observed by one who knows it.
El que pega primero pega dos veces.
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#11 2006-05-10 20:31:53
- Zmurf
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- Registered: 2005-07-31
- Posts: 49
Re: Proofs: What to do when you're out of time
Proof by quantum mechanics: > <---Right there is a quantum singularity that should (cross your fingers) expand into the correct proof when observed by one who knows it.
Can't argue with H-Dog (Steven Hawking). lol.
Find the equation for the line whos table of values is displayed below:
EASY. y = xy / y
Can you believed I got that right in an exam? It made me very worried.
Last edited by Zmurf (2006-05-10 20:39:08)
"When subtracted from 180, the sum of the square-root of the two equal angles of an isocoles triangle squared will give the square-root of the remaining angle squared."
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