4 ms·

"It is well known" is shorthand for "I don't want to bother figuring out the correct original reference for it", not "the average layperson knows this".

• Create 18y ago
  no, it is rather a shorthand for "I cannot explain the basic concept behind it clearly in a few words, because I fail to fully understand it" Anyway, this paper publishing business has become an industry, which has little to do with exposing/exchanging ideas/thoughts on a given topic. It has become an industry for justifying applications for grants, as most people rather game the system then be left without a paycheck. See the story behind the Bose-Einstein condensate: Einstein had hardly anything to do with it -- except to open the door to the publisher (who btw has also nothing to do with it, still owning the copyright to Bose's work)
  • swombat 18y ago
    No, it's not. It's shorthand for "Most people in the field or capable of understanding an explanation of this already know it". Sorry, but it is well known to physicists.
    • hugh 18y ago
      Or at least, to the subset of physicists likely to be reading a paper on gravitational waves. In any case I think it's safe to assume that Einstein understood it. He was pretty good at the whole general relativity thing.
      • mattmaroon 18y ago
        I was just joking because I found the sentence humorous.