computer science

Hermann Pokorny

Hermann Pokorny is a computer science 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 Hermann Pokorny rather than just read about it. In short: Hermann Pokorny (7 April 1882 – 18 February 1960) was a World War I Austro-Hungarian Army cryptologist whose work with Russian ciphers contributed substantially to Central Powers victories over Russia. He was a member of the Hungarian Order of Vitéz.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Hermann Pokorny (7 April 1882 – 18 February 1960) was a World War I Austro-Hungarian Army cryptologist whose work with Russian ciphers contributed substantially to Central Powers victories over Russia. He was a member of the Hungarian Order of Vitéz.

Life Pokorny was born in Kroměříž, Moravia in 1882, into a German-speaking family. His father was a postmaster. A cousin was Major Franciszek Pokorny, a Polish Army officer who after World War I headed the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau. In 1900 Hermann Pokorny joined the k.u.k. Austro-Hungarian Army. By 1918, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell, he was a lieutenant colonel. During World War I, Pokorny, as a cryptologist in the rank of major, headed the Austro-Hungarian General Staff's Russian-Cipher Bureau. He showed great ability in decrypting Russian enciphered military messages that were broadcast by radio in 1914–17. He recognized that the Russian cryptographers had reduced the 35-letter Russian alphabet to 24 letters, while doubling the 11 missing letters to some of the other 24 letters. His break into the Russian military cipher system enabled Austro-Hungarian and German forces to act in advance of impending Russian maneuvers, thus contributing substantially to Central Powers victories over the Russians. He is mentioned in Soviet Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov's famous book, Мозг армии (The Brain of the Army, 1929). For his services to cryptology, Pokorny was decorated with the Large Military Merit Medal with Swords in 1918. Founded on April 1, 1916, this honour was intended for the "highest especially praiseworthy recognition" and was awarded only 30 times. 28 of its recipients were officers of general's rank; the other two were the naval aviator Gottfried von Banfield (1916) and Pokorny himself. After World War I, as a German-language native speaker, Pokorny did not request Czechoslovak or Austrian citizenship because he was not welcome in Czechoslovakia on account of his German roots nor in Austria because he had been born on Czech soil. Accordingly, in 1918 he joined the Hungarian Army and made his new life as a Hungarian citizen. He was promoted to colonel in 1925 and retired in 1935 in the rank of major general. During World War II, he was not called up for military service. After the Soviet Red Army captured Budapest in 1945, he volunteered to support Hungary's reconstruction. He worked for the Foreign Ministry (1945–1949). He went into his final retirement as a general, and died in Budapest in 1960.

Ranks August 1900: Cadet October 1901: 2nd Lieutenant October 1906: 1st Lieutenant April 1910: Captain May 1915: Major May 1917: Lieutenant Colonel December 1921: Colonel May 1925: Lieutenant General December 1928: Major General October 1945: General

See also Franciszek Pokorny Order of Vitéz

References http://mek.niif.hu/02000/02095/html/index.htm MEK – Pokorny Herman: Emlékeim

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hermann Pokorny

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hermann Pokorny claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, 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 Hermann Pokorny 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 Hermann Pokorny 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 Hermann Pokorny

In research: Hermann Pokorny appears in computer science 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 Hermann Pokorny 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: Hermann Pokorny is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1882 births, 1960 deaths, 20th-century cryptographers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hermann Pokorny 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 Hermann Pokorny in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hermann Pokorny 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 Hermann Pokorny out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hermann Pokorny in simple terms?

Why does Hermann Pokorny matter?

Because it connects several computer science 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 Hermann Pokorny?

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 Hermann Pokorny.