I would prefer them saying the evidence pointed that way to them using a stronger phrase.
But that’s not what that means—it’s not very strong. If I say, “My search proved fruitful”, then I’m not saying anything particularly strong—just that I found something. Saying “that proved unlikely to work” just means “based on , I’ve observed that it’s unlikely to work”. can be a search, some research, an experiment, or anything of that sort.
Note that this sense of “proved” does not even need to imply a particular conclusion—“The experiment proved inconclusive”.
This is more similar to the use of “proof” in baking or alcohol than the use of “proof” in geometry or logic.
But that’s not what that means—it’s not very strong. If I say, “My search proved fruitful”, then I’m not saying anything particularly strong—just that I found something. Saying “that proved unlikely to work” just means “based on , I’ve observed that it’s unlikely to work”. can be a search, some research, an experiment, or anything of that sort.
Note that this sense of “proved” does not even need to imply a particular conclusion—“The experiment proved inconclusive”.
This is more similar to the use of “proof” in baking or alcohol than the use of “proof” in geometry or logic.