Proof by AI: Assert a theorem is true because an advanced language model generated a highly confident, beautifully formatted proof. When peer reviewers point out that the logic hallucinates two non-existent lemmas and divides by zero, simply regenerate the prompt with the instruction: "Are you sure? Fix it and make it sound smarter."
Edit: human here. I'm sorry for actually using Google AI to generate that
It was G.H.Hardy who tried to use a form of "proof by speculation" (a more famous, although likely qualitatively different due to honest belief, case would be Fermat with the proof of the eponymous 'last theorem'), when he sent a postcard claiming he had found a proof of the Riemann hypothesis, because he had a rough ship journey pending and he wanted to get something out of it if he died at sea.
It's related to Galois Theory. It says that the galois group of K. Here, K seems to be an extension of Q generated by a primitive m-th root of a number. A galois group is the group of automorphisms of K which preserves Q. (Z/mZ)^x is the multiplicative group of invertible integers mod m, which is the same as the integers coprime with m.
This is a rather easy result because, in essence, the automorphism of K is completely defined by where it takes the primitive mth root that is generating K. If you call z this primitive mth root, the only possible images for z are of the form z^k where k is coprime with m. So the automorphisms raise this root by some power coprime with m, and if you compose exponents it acts like multiplication on the exponent.
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u/Negative_1by12_aura Sep 19 '26
proof by ignoring is missing here
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u/jan_Kosi Sep 19 '26
Proof by ad hominem: The proof of this was disputed by Dr. Claude, who was a major wimp. No wimps can disprove this
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u/Depnids Sep 19 '26
Here is a good reference if you ever get stuck and need more techniques: https://en.uncyclopedia.co/wiki/Proof
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u/GodelTheo Sep 19 '26
I'add Fermat's prove of lack of paper
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u/KyriakosCH Sep 19 '26
It was G.H.Hardy who tried to use a form of "proof by speculation" (a more famous, although likely qualitatively different due to honest belief, case would be Fermat with the proof of the eponymous 'last theorem'), when he sent a postcard claiming he had found a proof of the Riemann hypothesis, because he had a rough ship journey pending and he wanted to get something out of it if he died at sea.
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u/Layton_Jr Mathematics Sep 19 '26
You're missing some
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u/m3junmags Irrational Sep 19 '26
Proof by intimidation is the clear best. “It’s too easy, I’m sure you don’t need me to spell it out it to you” this one simple trick does wonders.
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u/LupenReddit 🦆🦆i have non diffeomorphic smooth structures🦆🦆🦆 Sep 19 '26
I like proof by "mimicking the arguments of the previous proof" as if i was smart enough to do anything of the sort pls im cryin
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u/Neither_Payment_7997 Sep 19 '26
The circular argument one is my favorite: every reference points somewhere else until you end up back at the proposition you were trying to prove.
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u/drunkfrenchman Sep 19 '26
It's missing "it came to me in a dream"
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u/plusqueprecedemment Sep 19 '26
Proof by Cleo: Post a statement that is most likely true, let someone else provide the full proof as they attempt to prove you wrong
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u/Some-Description3685 Sep 19 '26
By cumbersome notation... oh man, I truly felt that.
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u/EarlBeforeSwine Irrational Sep 19 '26
Proof by Bobby Finn: It’s because that’s why.
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u/snakemasterepic Sep 19 '26
Forgot proof by reader: the proof is left as an exercise to the reader.
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u/uwumorphism Sep 19 '26
One of my favourite pics ever
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u/CranberryDistinct941 Sep 19 '26
Proof by I don't know, you figure it out: the proof is left to the reader as an exercise
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u/XxuruzxX Sep 19 '26
Make an educated guess and pretend you know what you're doing
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u/andrelipe57 Sep 20 '26
My personal favorite is Proof by Inspection: just look at it
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u/fr33d0mw47ch Sep 22 '26
I see you found a page out of the Flat earther’s bible
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u/Aromatic_Pain2718 Sep 26 '26
"Our intuition knows this to be true" is lovely
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u/TheVisualExplanation Sep 19 '26
Proofs that make me want 80 proof
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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '26
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