This is like explaining the theory of gravity to someone and them understanding it, and then they ask so how come we don't all just float away into space!
The deniers keep saying you need leaves for the plants to grow and produce buds, but they can't seem to grasp the concept that when you defoliate the plant the leaves grow back again but you get twice as many! The plants grow back thicker and bushier after defoliation!
Let me try to explain the technique in simple terms:
1. You veg the plant until it's 6-8 inches tall and has 6-7 sets of leaves, you then defoliate the plant. The plant is shocked by losing these leaves and thinks right I need more leaves, so it starts growing lots of leaves back again. It does this fairly quickly as the root mass is much bigger than the plant above ground, so you get a much bushier plant with more leaves on.
2. You allow that plant to veg for 2 more weeks in which time it will have grown twice the amount of leaves back again, then you defoliate again. The plant isn't as shocked by it now as it's happened before and it knows what to do!
3. You then veg for another 2 weeks allowing the plant to grow back with twice as many leaves, by which time your plant will be seriously bushy!
4. You then flip to 12/12.
5. After approx 21 days from the day you flipped you defoliate again, your plant does not get shock this time because the plant is used to having it's leaves stripped (important part of defoliation) and just concentrates on producing buds. The lower buds are benefiting from all of the extra light because there are no leaves shading them and grow into usable buds instead of the stuff we normally throw away. This is where the extra yield of usable/smokeable buds comes from!!
You get exactly the same as you did before from the top of the plant, yet the middle and lower buds are now much bigger.
Is it really that hard to comprehend??