astronomy

Gu Jifa

Gu Jifa is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gu Jifa rather than just read about it. In short: Gu Jifa (Chinese: 顾基发; born 1930s) is a Chinese systems scientist, and Professor of Operations Research and Systems Engineering at the Institute of Systems Science, Academy of Mathematics and System Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is known for hs proposal of the "oriental Wu-li Shi-li Ren-li system approach." He is an academician of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences.

Key takeaways

Gu Jifa belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gu Jifa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gu Jifa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gu Jifa (Chinese: 顾基发; born 1930s) is a Chinese systems scientist, and Professor of Operations Research and Systems Engineering at the Institute of Systems Science, Academy of Mathematics and System Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is known for hs proposal of the "oriental Wu-li Shi-li Ren-li system approach." He is an academician of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences.

Biography Gu was born in Shanghai, with his ancestral home in Zhenhai, Zhejiang. He studied at Fudan University from 1953 to 1956, before earning his BA in computational mathematics from Peking University in 1957. He obtained his Ph.D. from the USSR Academy of Sciences with a major in operations research in 1963. In 1957 Gu had started his academic career at Chinese Academy of Sciences at its Institute of Mechanics, Institute of Mathematics, later renamed to Institute of Systems Science. He taught and did research in the fields of operations research, multiple criteria decision analysis, evaluation, and systems engineering. From 1999 to 2003 he was Professor at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in its Lab of Socio-Technical Systems of the School of Knowledge Science. Upon his return he proceeded as Professor of Management school of Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and as professor of Management School of Dalian University of Technology. Gu served as the president of Systems Engineering Society of China from 1994 to 2002; and president of International Federation for Systems Research 2002-2005. He also served as honorary editor of the journal Systems Research and Behavioral Science and is currently Vice President of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences.

Selected publications Gu has published 200 papers and more than 30 books and proceedings. A selection:

Jifa Gu. Multiple Criteria Decision Making 1995. Jifa Gu, Gerald Midgley and David Campbell. Dealing with Human Relations in Chinese System Practice. 2000. Jifa Gu, Guozhi Xu and Hongan Che. A Study on System Science and Engineering.. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Education Press, 2000. Jifa Gu & Gerhard Chroust (eds.). IFSR 2005 - The New Roles of Systems Sciences for a Knowledge-based Society, Kobe 2005. Jaist Press, Komatsu, Japan. 2005 Jifa Gu, Yoshiteru Nakamori, Zhongtuo Wang and Xijin Tang. Towards knowledge synthesis and creation, 2006. Articles, a selection Jifa Gu & Xijin Tang. "Meta-synthesis approach to complex system modeling". In: European Journal of Operational Research 166(3): 2005; 597-614. Jifa Gu, Yijun Liu and Wenyuan Niu. "Exploring Computational Scheme of Complex Problem Solving Based on Meta-Synthesis Approach". In: International Conference on Computational Science (4) 2007: 9-17 Jifa Gu & Andrzej P. Wierzbicki. "Debating and Creativity Support". In: Creative Environments 2007: 127-154

References

Further reading Gerald Midgley and Jennifer Wilby (2000). "Systems Practice in China: New Developments and Cross-Cultural Collaborations". In: Systemic Practice and Action Research Vol 13, Nr 1. February 2000. pp. 3–9.

External links "Systems methodologies. From Hard to Soft. From West to East" Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine ISSS Presentation 2007.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gu Jifa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gu Jifa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gu Jifa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gu Jifa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gu Jifa

In research: Gu Jifa appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gu Jifa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gu Jifa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1930s births, Academic staff of Dalian University of Technology, Academic staff of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gu Jifa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gu Jifa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gu Jifa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gu Jifa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gu Jifa in simple terms?

Why does Gu Jifa matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gu Jifa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gu Jifa.