First Take: Scholars often refer to the Archimedean “point” or “vantage point” as a hypothetical position to which one might remove oneself, and from which one might view the totality of an event without being affected by it. 

Deeper: In narrative journalism, the use of narrative erasure or restraint, the omniscient point of view, or “fly on the wall” narration may be said to aim for an Archimedean effect.  (See especially the discussion in Chapter 3 ). The term originally referred to the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who reputedly claimed that, if given a place to stand on (and a long enough lever), he could lift the Earth itself.  In some quarters, this vantage point is associated with the achievement of disinterestedness or intellectual independence—again, largely as a hypothetical or ideal position of neutrality, e.g. as in an argument.  Many contemporary theories of narrative, however, discount the plausibility of such a position (see entry on postmodern approaches).