astronomy

Hyman Levy

Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy rather than just read about it. In short: Hyman Levy (28 February 1889 – 27 February 1975) was a Scottish-Jewish mathematician, philosopher, author, political activist, and fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. For many years he taught mathematics at Imperial College London, eventually retiring as Emeritus Professor.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Hyman Levy (28 February 1889 – 27 February 1975) was a Scottish-Jewish mathematician, philosopher, author, political activist, and fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. For many years he taught mathematics at Imperial College London, eventually retiring as Emeritus Professor.

Life Hyman Levy was born into an orthodox Jewish family in Scotland in 1889. He was the third oldest of eight children of Minna Cohen and Marcus Levy. His father was a picture-framer and occasional art dealer in Edinburgh. The family lived at 70 Bristo Street in Edinburgh's South Side. Levy attended George Heriot's School a short distance from his family home, and was named the school Dux in 1907. He studied mathematics at Edinburgh University. His leftist politics were evident early when he declined a chance for further study at Cambridge University—on account of what he considered its complicity in Britain's class system—and instead chose to pursue mathematical research at the University of Göttingen in Germany. At the outbreak of World War I, Levy returned to Britain. In 1916 he joined the Royal Flying Corps. It is unclear if he saw active service, but the experience inspired an interest in aerodynamics. In 1916 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Cargill Gilston Knott, Edmund Taylor Whittaker, James Robert Milne and George Alexander Carse. In 1918 he married Marion Aitken Fraser, a devout Presbyterian, which led to a rupture with his family who disapproved of the interfaith marriage. The couple had a daughter and two sons. Levy researched aeronautics at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). He published papers and books on the subject, including Aeronautics in Theory and Experiment (1918), which was called "perhaps the earliest text covering, at advanced level, the whole theory of aeroplane design and operation." After leaving NPL, he became a professor of mathematics at the Royal College of Science, Imperial College London, where he later served as head of the mathematics department, and subsequently became dean of the Royal College itself. Levy's main areas of mathematical specialization were in numerical methods, numerical solutions of differential equations, finite difference equations and statistics. Among his important books were Numerical Studies in Differential Equations (1934), Elements of Probability (1936), and Finite Difference Equations (1959). He also made contributions to number theory, including a 1963 paper comparing Lemoine's conjecture to Goldbach's weak conjecture. Levy was in the Labour Party from 1920 to 1931. He then joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and was a loyal member for 25 years. In 1956 he travelled to the Soviet Union and was appalled by what he regarded as the mistreatment of Russian-Jewish writers, artists and intellectuals. He published a scathing article on the subject in January 1957, and then followed that with a book, Jews and the National Question. He was condemned by CPGB leadership for his "departure from Marxism", culminating in his expulsion from the Party in 1958. Hyman Levy died in Wimbledon, London on 27 February 1975, one day before his 86th birthday.

Selected bibliography Aeronautics in Theory and Experiment, co-authored with William Lewis Cowley. London: E. Arnold (1918); OCLC 247882. Practical Mathematical Analysis, by H. von Sanden ... with examples by the translator, H. Levy. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. (1924); OCLC 3145545. The Universe of Science. London: Watts (1932); OCLC 2989424. Science in an irrational society. London: Watts (1934); OCLC 8278279. The web of thought and action. London: Watts (1934); OCLC 1899779. Aspects of Dialectical Materialism, co-authored with Ralph Winston Fox, John Macmurray, R. Page Arnot, J. D. Bernal and E. F. Carritt. London: Watts (1934); OCLC 5153156. Numerical Studies in Differential Equations, co-authored with Edward Albert Baggott. London: Watts (1934); LCCN 34-40900. Modern Engineering Theory & Practice, co-authored with Bailey Levy; Odhams Press Ltd (1935); ASIN B000R7AJPW. Elements of Probability, co-authored with Leonard Roth. Oxford: The Clarendon Press (1936); LCCN 37-10467. A Philosophy for a Modern Man; Alfred A. Knopf (1938); ASIN B0006DA3US. Modern Science – A Study of Physical Science in the World Today, Hamish Hamilton (1939); ASIN B00085G0RO. Science: Curse Or Blessing?, London: Watts & Co. (1940); ASIN B0026OCT8O. Elementary Mathematics, London: Thomas Nelson & Sons (1942); ASIN B0007DT7RC. Soviet Jews at war, pamphlet, Russia Today Society (1943); ASIN B00KBTLNDI. Elementary Statistics, co-authored with Edward Ernest Preidel. London: Thomas Nelson & Sons (1944); OCLC 4027740. Social Thinking, Cobbett Press (1945); ASIN B0014KNTQW. Literature for an age of science, co-authored with Helen Spalding. London: Methuen (1952); OCLC 5357029 Jews and the National Question, London: Hillway Pub. Co. (1958); OCLC 5365616. Finite Difference Equations, co-authored with F. Lessman; London: Pitman (1959); LCCN 59-4065.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hyman Levy

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy

In research: Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy 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: Hyman Levy is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1889 births, 1975 deaths, 20th-century British philosophers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Hyman Levy in simple terms?

Why does Hyman Levy 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 Hyman Levy?

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 Hyman Levy.