Hey! Good question—I had the same confusion when I first saw "proxied by" in math papers.
Basically, it means using one thing as a stand-in or approximation for another when the original is hard to measure or work with directly.
For example, in stats, you might use income level to proxy for wealth if wealth data is missing.
Not a dumb question at all—jargon can be tricky!
Basically, it means using one thing as a stand-in or approximation for another when the original is hard to measure or work with directly.
For example, in stats, you might use income level to proxy for wealth if wealth data is missing.
Not a dumb question at all—jargon can be tricky!