Page "Handwaving" Paragraph 4

By extension, handwaving is used in speculative fiction criticism to refer to a plot device ( e. g., a scientific discovery, a political development, or rules governing the behavior of a fictional creature ) that is left unexplained or sloppily explained because it is convenient to the story, with the implication that the writer is aware of the logical weakness but hopes the reader will not notice or will suspend disbelief.

The fictional material handwavium is sometimes referred to in situations where the solution requires access to a substance that is physically impossible to create as it defies physics but is convenient to solving a problem in the story.

( See also unobtainium, which would probably be possible to create, but only by a great deal of research, development, time, effort, or money, none of which the speaker intends to explain at the moment.