Not Waving but Drowning Not Waving but Drowning "Not Waving but Drowning" is a poem by the British poet Stevie Smith. It was published in 1957 as part of a collection of the same title. The most famous of Smith's poems, it gives an account of a drowned man whose distressed thrashing in the water had been mistaken for waving. The poem was accompanied by one of Smith's drawings, as was common in her work. The poem's personal significance has been the topic of several pieces of literary criticism because Smith was treated for psychological problems. She contemplated suicide at the age of eight
Hand-waving in role-playing games to describe actions and conversations that are quickly glossed over, rather than acted out in full according to the rules. This may be done to keep from bogging down the play of the game with time-consuming but minor details. In mathematics, and theory-dominated disciplines in which mathematics plays a major role, "hand-waving" refers to a reliance on heuristic, as opposed to rigorous, arguments. These may be useful in expository papers and seminar presentations, but fall short of the standard of proof needed to establish a result. An accusation of mathematical hand-waving can be a professional attack, intended