Proof by Osmosis
by Kenneth Chang in the
New York Times of April 6, 2004
“A rigorous proof, a notion first set forth by Euclid around 300 B.C., is a progression of logic, starting from assumptions and arriving at a conclusion. If the chain is correct, the proof is true. If not, it is wrong.
But a proof is sometimes a fuzzy concept, subject to whim and personality. Almost no published proof contains every step; there are just too many….
…. reviewers rarely check every step, instead focusing mostly on the major points. In the end, they either believe the proof or not.
‘It’s like osmosis,’ said Dr. Akihiro Kanamori, a mathematics professor at Boston University who writes about the history of mathematics. ‘More and more people say it’s a proof and you believe them.’….”
See also The Story Theory of Truth.