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Topic: Handwaving


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In the News (Sun 3 Jun 12)

  
  NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Hand waving
The term handwaving is used in mathematics and physics to describe arguments that are not mathematically rigorous.
The expression "vigorous handwaving" is meant to suggest that the proponent should be aware of failing to convince; in addition it may suggest that the proponent lacks confidence in the validity of his or her own argument.
Handwaving contrasts with use of abstract nonsense, that is, appeal to some intellectual superstructure of generalities.
www.nationmaster.com /encyclopedia/Hand_waving   (484 words)

  
  Handwaving - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term handwaving is used in mathematics and physics to describe arguments that are not mathematically rigorous.
The expression "vigorous handwaving" or "furious handwaving" is meant to suggest that the proponent should be aware of failing to convince; in addition it may suggest that the proponent lacks confidence in the validity of their own argument.
Handwaving contrasts with use of abstract nonsense, that is, appeal to some intellectual superstructure of generalities.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Handwaving   (623 words)

  
 Handwaving - Biocrawler
The fictional material handwavium (similar to unobtainium) is sometimes referred to in situations where the solution requires access to an obviously impossible substance.
The gestures of handwaving (from the Jargon File): both hands up, palms forward, swinging the hands in a vertical plane pivoting at the elbows and/or shoulders (depending on the magnitude of the handwave); alternatively, holding the forearms in one position while rotating the hands at the wrist to make them flutter.
In context, the gestures alone can suffice as a remark; if a speaker makes an outrageously unsupported assumption, you might simply wave your hands in this way, as an accusation, far more eloquent than words could express, that his logic is faulty.
www.biocrawler.com /encyclopedia/Handwaving   (379 words)

  
 Hand Waving
Instead of acknowledging the difficult issue and working with another to analyze it and find a solution, it is simply made to magically disappear by invoking some explanation which seems to cover the facts but in fact simply hides them through various techniques.
HandWaving was always the way my physics professors would discuss 'cutting out' some fairly complicated, not-really-relevant-to-the-discussion mathematics during lectures.
A maths professor at University of Helsinki used to warn people that the following would be a load of inexact handwaving when he started (finally) to talk about things like graphical representations and real-world-ish applications for the theory being taught.
c2.com /cgi/wiki?HandWaving   (640 words)

  
 Handwaving PC Advancement - Treasure Tables
This seems quite relevant to handwaving significant PC advancement and large chunks of game time: to get the most out of this idea, the whole group — players and GM — will need to brainstorm and toss around ideas about what sounds like the most fun for their game.
In both cases, I did not handwave off too many levels, since the things that happen out of session, are not as “intense” as the in game session.
Handwaving works pretty well, and it is a nice way to jump back into an older game.
www.treasuretables.org /2005/09/handwaving-pc-advancement   (1867 words)

  
 Flags, Handwaving Flags, Handwavers, hand flags and small flags, supply, advice, tutorials and tips.
The most common material used for handwaving flags and handwavers is 170gsm paper although some stock item handwaving flags are printed onto polythene.
Customers usually prefer their handwaving flags and handwavers to be printed on both sides with a mirror image but 2 designs is at no extra cost.
The handwaving flag sticks are made from high quality plastic tubing (4mm diameter) for strength and rigidity - they are available as standard in white.
www.handwavingflags.com /flags-handwavers.php   (252 words)

  
 Flags, Hand Flags, Bunting and Sashes, UK No.1 Manufacturer of all flag related items
Handwaving flags, Handwavers and Bunting are the perfect promotional giveaway for every event...
Handwaving flags / handwavers are ideal for promotions in Motorsport, Marches, Protests, Sports Team Support, rallies, charity events, Product Launch, record breaking attempts, Celebrations and almost every other event.
Think of a good handwaving flags / flag design as a great piece of artwork, expressive and able to relate a little bit to almost everyone.
www.handwavingflags.com   (2752 words)

  
 Talk:Handwaving - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You'll have to explain the relevance of the poem, please, otherwise it looks totally out of context.
Question from a non-native english reader: What does handwaving mean in a literal sense?
I mean, what movement of the hand/gesture is described by this term?
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Talk:Handwaving   (119 words)

  
 Entropy Gradient Reversals - Handwaving Recognition
This challenge takes us into the deepest heart of information retrieval theory, and poses questions about the nature of human language that may not ever be fully answered.
hat we are proposing, then, is a new and much needed technology: handwaving recognition.
In the ten examples that follow, the URLs point to actual sources from which we have quoted topical examples of high-level handwaving.
www.rageboy.com /0.17.html   (1401 words)

  
 JSP Insider - Online resource for JavaServer Pages (JSP), Servlets, and J2EE
Also, to support the ever expanding XML modeling of our world, I am using the newly created HandWaving XML DTD to make sure your email reader or browser will be able to properly display the quality of this presentation.
style="Hypnotic" tempo="Steady" mood="Reflective"> It's the actual start of a new Millennium and I was sent an innocent email asking me for my opinion about the future of ASP+, JSP and the mysteries of life in a non-Microsoft universe.
style="BreakingASweat" tempo="Steady" mood="Pondering"> Question Part 2: A friend tells me there is an entire non-MS universe out there that I'm not aware of.
www.jspinsider.com /content/jspbuzz/2001-01-09.jsp   (2026 words)

  
 Goldin-Meadow Lab: Hearing Gesture   (Site not responding. Last check: )
We collected our own videotapes of children participating in conservation tasks and, after hours of careful study, Breckie and I were convinced that these movements were not just handwaving.
I begin by situating gesture within the vast field of nonverbal communication, and making it clear why gesture (as opposed to other nonverbal acts) is the focus of this book.
I provide evidence that gesture is more than just handwaving and can convey substantive information about a task.
goldin-meadow-lab.uchicago.edu /hear_gest.html   (1391 words)

  
 News: Smalley/Drexler debate MNT in C&E News cover story   (Site not responding. Last check: )
He won't succeed because, given evidence, most people will elect to believe their eyes rather than his non-scientific handwaving.
I've always considered Smalley's distinctly odd (for a scientist) statements on nanotechnology as stemming from a simple lack of interest in new approaches and the undoubted successes of his traditional bulk techniques in chemistry.
While we have no direct evidence that Smalley has consciously decided to combat fear-mongering with handwaving, it does at least suggest the rationality of symmetry in his responses, for what it's worth.
nanodot.org /comments.pl?sid=03/12/01/0528244&cid=3   (989 words)

  
 Re: Handwaving hasn't generated a single graviton
Subject: Re: Handwaving hasn't generated a single graviton
Prev by thread: Re: Handwaving hasn't generated a single graviton
Next by thread: Re: Handwaving hasn't generated a single graviton
www.lns.cornell.edu /spr/2003-10/msg0054871.html   (383 words)

  
 Handwaving Flags - Flags, Flagpoles & Bunting - One Stop Promotions Ltd
Handwaving Flags - Flags, Flagpoles & Bunting - One Stop Promotions Ltd
UK and St George Plastic 11" x 8" Hand Waving Flags with plastic stick.
Fabric Handwaving Flags 18" x 12" with wooden stick.
shop.onestoppromotions.co.uk /category26000184.html   (148 words)

  
 Entropy Gradient Reversals - Handwaving Recognition
This challenge takes us into the deepest heart of information retrieval theory, and poses questions about the nature of human language that may not ever be fully answered.
hat we are proposing, then, is a new and much needed technology: handwaving recognition.
In the ten examples that follow, the URLs point to actual sources from which we have quoted topical examples of high-level handwaving.
www.panix.com /userdirs/clocke/EGR/0.17.html   (1395 words)

  
 cogling Archives: Re: Chomsky and cognitive linguistics   (Site not responding. Last check: )
> The term "handwaving" is used in mathematics and physics to describe arguments that are not mathematically rigorous.
> The expression "vigorous handwaving" is meant to suggest at least that the proponent should be aware of failing to convince; it may suggest the proponent lacks confidence in the validity of their own argument.
> People with handwaving disabilities (absence, paralysis or stiffness of upper limbs, or Nordic temperament) will be provided with prosthetic arms.
hci.ucsd.edu /cogling/3329.html   (346 words)

  
 England Handwaving Flag > London Flags and Mouse-mats > UK > Souvenirs
England Handwaving Flag from london-gifts.net is great quality.
If you are a tourist, or your forgot to buy gifts for your friends and family, then pick up your discounted souvenirs online.
We ship all over the world, so wherever you are, if you are looking for a London England Handwaving Flag then we will deliver it to you!
london-gifts.net /london-uk-england/.../England-Handwaving-Flag/88.htm   (99 words)

  
 Reader Comment   (Site not responding. Last check: )
b) statistically women are paid less than men, though no one ever cites (handwaving) any study in particular, or any mechanism by which a women's center on the U of C campus affects HR decisions in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, or anywhere else;
e) many other campuses have one, so the U of C should have one too because having one will provide benefits (handwaving) which are not rigorously defined or indicated (and neglecting the logical ineptness of this argument: should all countries have nuclear weapons because a few do now?).
I have tried repeatedly to get supporters to fill in those handwaving steps, only to get flamed for being a male.
gauntlet.ucalgary.ca /user_comment.php?CommentID=1115   (195 words)

  
 Re: Handwaving hasn't generated a single graviton
John Baez wrote: > And that's good - because if we could detect them with our > current crappy equipment, there'd have to be a *really* strong > source of gravitational radiation out there: something downright > scary and dangerous!
John, thanks for the story about handwaving not producing a single graviton - very amusing.
I would like to tell a little story of my own (not so amusing, but hopefully interesting) and then ask whether I might accidentally have discovered a gravitational wave detector - the earth.
www.lns.cornell.edu /spr/2003-09/msg0054547.html   (479 words)

  
 [No title]
You can gab and handwave until the cows come home, but you cannot change that fact.
Unfortunately for Jones, Martin's analysis is wrong, his magic addition for the volume in circulating electrolyte is wrong, and the cell system is not pressurized.
If this, if that, and if the other style handwaving is not science.
www.ibiblio.org /pub/academic/physics/Cold-fusion/fd-latest/thruFD4563   (7330 words)

  
 [No title]
Surely you must have known as well as I do that the pump is sitting in a room, surrounded by air.
I would like to see a complete description >of the experiment including things like the volume of the working fluid >and the rate at which that fluid is replaced.
There is more than enough information out there for you to avoid making the kinds of mistakes you have made here, where you overlooked the fact that the charging time is only 20 minutes.
www.ibiblio.org /pub/academic/physics/Cold-fusion/fd-latest/thruFD4559   (9714 words)

  
 The TCP/IP LAN - A Hands-on How-to
A little vague handwaving can often save hours of tedious explanation.
A LAN is a Local Area Network -- it's a fancy way of saying "the two or three computers in this room, give or take the dozen down the hall." It implies a fast connection -- dozens, hundreds, even thousands of times faster than a dial-up modem.
If you have questions about your physical network connection, go on to our next thrilling chapter, Hubs, Switches, and Routers.
handsonhowto.com /lan101.html   (3653 words)

  
 [ < a r d a n t > ]
Critically acclaimed for his handwaving, and his ability to make all our proofs "2 lines" long.
(Yes, two lines long, and 4 pages of handwaving).
Regardless, algebra is fun, even if most of it involves watching Dave sleep.
www.ardant.net /view.shtml?00.11.27.18.37   (330 words)

  
 Ambient Irony: Recently Flung At A Wall
It's like a dumb-plague infected the universe of this novel some time back; I can't see any other way for the situation described to have arisen.
Again, features nano-tech handwaving and a general disregard for the laws of physics.
There's a new C. Cherry out, Destroyer, book one of the third Foreigner trilogy, and it's apparently quite good.
ambientirony.mu.nu /archives/2005/02/recently_flung.php   (325 words)

  
 Proto-World and the Language Organ
For the whole species to have true language, the mutation must spread throughout the population, by making its bearers reproduce more successfully than non-bearers.
At this point we usually hear some handwaving about the obvious benefits of language.
But we must distinguish language from the language organ.
www.zompist.com /langorg.htm   (5649 words)

  
 Chief Blogging Officer
Symbiosis btw is a codeword for that old time "oceanic feeling." The sub-rosa agenda by which all these nonexistent concepts continue to thrive despite lack of a lick of evidence is America's mania for self-esteem boosterism
-- the notion that self-esteem is "secondary narcissism" and somehow therefore -- much handwaving typically occurs here -- equals a second-order nonexistent concept: "healthy narcissism."
It is precisely people like Norman O. Brown -- and an oceanic boatload of harebrained New Agers and "humanistic" so-called psychologists who have foisted this and suchlike pernicious perspectives upon an unsuspecting world that could have done without them, views and viewmongers both.
www.chiefbloggingofficer.com /2005_04_24_archive.html   (4384 words)

  
 SPCR :: View topic - Improving SPCR PSU reviews   (Site not responding. Last check: )
Can you not set aside one system with 4 HDDs, a high end GPU and Prescott just to test power draw and voltages?
There is a bit of handwaving going on with "typical system power draws".
I totally believe your numbers as many members here have corroborated them using their own systems.
forums.silentpcreview.com /viewtopic.php?t=18540   (2264 words)

  
 What is Canon?
The key statements here are that the ICS books are "canon" (albeit not the highest level of canon; that's obviously the movies), and that they are actually used as reference guides.
There are even more quotes regarding this subject, but after all of the handwaving, it still comes down to the same basic theme: Lucasfilm regards their licensed, approved, non-movie material to be lesser than the movies (obviously), but not irrelevant (also obviously).
Steve Sansweet makes this more clear on the official website, in their "Ask the Jedi Council" section:
www.stardestroyer.net /Empire/Misc/Canon.html   (2919 words)

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