astronomy

Horace Dobbs

Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs rather than just read about it. In short: Horace Edward Dobbs (14 January 1933 – 12 July 2020), and commonly referred to as Horace Dobbs was a British scientist, researcher, author, and television producer. He was regarded as an expert on dolphins and their behaviour.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Horace Edward Dobbs (14 January 1933 – 12 July 2020), and commonly referred to as Horace Dobbs was a British scientist, researcher, author, and television producer. He was regarded as an expert on dolphins and their behaviour. In 1978, Dobbs sets up the International Dolphin Watch. He also founded the Oxford Underwater Research Group.

Early life Born in London, Dobbs attended the John Ruskin School and graduated at the age of 16. After high school, Dobbs worked briefly as a laboratory assistant in the Burroughs Wellcome Research Laboratories Beckenham, Kent. At the age of 20, Dobbs married his wife Wendy, and at 23, he graduated from London University with a BSc honours degree in Chemistry via part-time studies. From the Burroughs Wellcome laboratories, Horace Dobbs moved over to the Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), where he wrote two research publications, Quenching and Adsorption in Liquid scintillation counting, in 1962, and Dispensing solutions for liquid scintillation counting, published in the scientific and technical Aerospace reports, Volume 3, issue 17 in April 1965. While at UKAEA, Dobbs obtained his PhD from Oxford University. During this time, he developed his passion for diving and also wrote his first book, Camera Underwater.

Dolphin career Dobbs started chronicling his studies and dolphin interactions with the airing of Neptune's Needle on the BBC One, on 24 June 1965 and 20 March 1966. A New York Times article on a dolphin named Fungie reported that Dr. Dobbs spent two years filming the dolphin. Dobbs was considered an expert in subjects relating to dolphin behaviour, and in the Folkestone trial of two men accused of bothering a dolphin, Dobbs was called in as a defense witness. He was also interviewed by the BBC Radio Cornwall regarding the whereabouts and safety of a dolphin named Beaky of which he had written a book on titled, Follow a Wild Dolphin. As a wildlife conservationist, Dobbs argued against keeping dolphins in captivity. In an article by the BBC, Dobbs was quoted as saying that keeping dolphins in captivity at resorts or aquatic parks is akin to torture. As more and more people interact with dolphins, a growing number of experts, Dobbs included, believe that swimming with dolphins have a therapeutic effect on those suffering from depression. A 1994 essay by Hon. David Lloyd Hoare narrated the story of how Dr. Dobbs took some persons to swim with a dolphin named Simo, and the therapeutic effect it had on one of them.

Latter years and death In his latter years, Dobbs moved away from factual writing and film-making to creating a series of fictional children's book about an orphaned Dolphin called Dilo. Although these books are fictional, the stories are all based on actual events that Dobbs had experienced with wild dolphins. Dobbs lived in North Ferriby in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, near the city of Hull. He was married to Wendy Dobbs (now in a care home). Dobbs had two children Melanie Parker and Ashley Dobbs, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Dobbs died on 12 July 2020, at the age of 87.

Filmography Horace Dobbs on BFI. Dobbs Goosen Films at BFI.

Discography Horace E. Dobbs. Soundtrack to Wonders of the underwater world Dobbs Goosen Films.

Award INTERNATIONAL-PLATFORM-ASSOCIATION-AWARDS.

Scientific papers The Radioisotopes, from Nuclear Science Abstracts, Volume 18, Issues 1–7. Dispensing solutions for liquid scintillation counting. Published in NASA's scientific and technical Aerospace reports, Volume 3, issue 17. April 1965. Quenching and Adsorption in Liquid scintillation counting, August 1962. The detection of tritium labelled compounds in Vapour phase chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A, Volume 5, 1961.

Horace Dobbs' books List of books by Dr. Horace E. Dobbs.

The Great Diving Adventure, (J.H. Haynes & Co. Limited). Underwater Swimming, (Collins Nutshell Books). Camera Underwater, (Focal Press). Follow a Wild Dolphin, (Souvenir Press). Save the Dolphins, with a foreword by HRH Prince Philip (Souvenir Press). The Magic of Dolphins, (Lutterworth Press). Tale of Two Dolphins, (Jonathan Cape). Dance to a Dolphins Song, (Jonathan Cape). Snorkelling and Skin Diving, with a foreword by HRH Prince Charles (Oxford illustrated Press) Classic Dives of the World, (Oxford illustrated Press). Journey into Dolphin Dreamtime, (Jonathan Cape). Dilo and the Call of the Deep, (Watch Publishing). Dilo Makes Friends, (Watch Publishing). Dolphin Healing, (Piatkus Books). Dilo and the Treasure Hunters, (Watch Publishing). Dilo in Lighthouse Bay, (Watch Publishing). Dilo and the Isle of the Gods, (Star Books). Dilo and the Mystery of Atlantis (awaiting publication)

Notes

References

External links Horace Dobbs Website Archived 7 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine International Dolphin Watch

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Horace Dobbs

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs

In research: Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs 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: Horace Dobbs is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 births, 2020 deaths, 20th-century British zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Horace Dobbs in simple terms?

Why does Horace Dobbs 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 Horace Dobbs?

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 Horace Dobbs.