handwave

2 definitions found

handwave - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  handwave
  
     [possibly from gestures characteristic of stage magicians] To
     gloss over a complex point; to distract a listener; to support
     a (possibly actually valid) point with blatantly faulty logic.
  
     If someone starts a sentence with "Clearly..." or
     "Obviously..." or "It is self-evident that...", it is a good
     bet he is about to handwave (alternatively, use of these
     constructions in a sarcastic tone before a paraphrase of
     someone else's argument suggests that it is a handwave).  The
     theory behind this term is that if you wave your hands at the
     right moment, the listener may be sufficiently distracted to
     not notice that what you have said is wrong.  Failing that, if
     a listener does object, you might try to dismiss the objection
     with a wave of your hand.
  
     The use of this word is often accompanied by gestures: 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.
  
     [Jargon File]
  

handwave - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  handwave
   /hand'wayv/
  
     [poss. from gestures characteristic of stage magicians]
  
     1. v. To gloss over a complex point; to distract a listener; to
     support a (possibly actually valid) point with blatantly faulty
  logic.
  
     2. n. The act of handwaving. "Boy, what a handwave!"
  
     If someone starts a sentence with "Clearly..." or "Obviously..." or
     "It is self-evident that...", it is a good bet he is about to
  handwave
     (alternatively, use of these constructions in a sarcastic tone before
     a paraphrase of someone else's argument suggests that it is a
     handwave). The theory behind this term is that if you wave your hands
     at the right moment, the listener may be sufficiently distracted to
     not notice that what you have said is bogus. Failing that, if a
     listener does object, you might try to dismiss the objection with a
     wave of your hand.
  
     The use of this word is often accompanied by gestures: 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.