Publications

Trust me. QED

Heroux, Michael A.

Consider a standard SIAM journal article containing theoretical results. Each theorem has a proof that typically builds on previous developments. Since every theorem stems from a firm foundation, the research community can trust a result without further evidence. One could thus argue that a theorem does not require a proof because surely an author would not publish it if no proof existed to back it up. Furthermore, respectable reviewers and editors expect proofs without exception, and papers containing proof-less theorems will likely go unpublished.