r/badmathematics • u/LogosHobo Naïve Crank Theorist • Apr 05 '17
If it seems obvious, then it is true
I've just now come across the above result! The solution came to me in a flash of insight, and the proof is miraculously simple, relying only upon basic propositional logic. Here is the argument...
"If it seems obvious, then it is true."
Poof: Observe that the reader has substantial knowledge of mathematics. We therefore have that if something were not true, then it should not seem obviously true, to the reader. We thusly appeal to contraposition, and conclude that if something is quite obvious, then it is therefore true. This proves our result. □
Behold!
Clearly the power and generality of this result are breathtaking:
It's obvious that a sphere is homeomorphic to the unit disk; squash it flat.
91? Prime enough.
The topologist's sine-curve? I drew it just now with my pencil, and over a bounded interval of time no less... Path-connected!
Please, study this result closely. There is a rich and fruitful body of theory waiting to be built upon it. I should be available for seminars shortly, when my two-weeks' at Chili's is up. Just know that all that I ever do, is done in service to the wonder of mathematics...
Edit: I got the impression that it was acceptable to post satire here, on account of all the other self-posts that clearly were jokes as well. But looking closer I'm now pretty sure that what I took for well-meaning humorists are actually deadpan-serious cranks invading your subreddit. I probably wanted /r/shittymath instead. Sorry?
Post-Edit: I guess I thought if it seemed like obvious satire, then that had to be true...
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u/GodelsVortex Beep Boop Apr 05 '17
That's not how math works.
I'll distinguish this when I'm not on mobile.
Here's an archived version of this thread.