astronomy

James Clark McKerrow

James Clark McKerrow 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 James Clark McKerrow rather than just read about it. In short: James Clark McKerrow (21 May 1887 – 1965) was a British physician and philosopher. Biography McKerrow was born on 21 May 1887 in Workington.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

James Clark McKerrow (21 May 1887 – 1965) was a British physician and philosopher.

Biography McKerrow was born on 21 May 1887 in Workington. He was educated at University of Edinburgh and obtained his M.B. in 1912. During World War I he served in the Territorial Force but after being wounded joined family medical practice in Workington. McKerrow dedicated much of his life to studying evolution, philosophy, psychology and religious experiences. He studied at the British Museum Reading Room and filled 500 notebooks with his ideas. He wrote numerous philosophical and psychology books. McKerrow was an original thinker and held unorthodox opinions about different subjects. In his book Religion and History, he argued that there never was an Apostolic Age and that Christianity began between A.D. 70 and 135 from Gnosticism, a blend of pagan philosophy and Jewish Messianism. McKerrow denied the historicity of Jesus and maintained that Christ is "mythical" not a historical figure. McKerrow's Evolution Without Natural Selection promotes a Lamarckian alternative to natural selection. He contended that life must be accepted as a "four-dimensional process" and that living organisms evolve though "habit". This idea was similar to Samuel Butler's. McKerrow died from cancer in 1965.

Selected publications The Appearance of Mind (1923) Aberrations of Life (1923) Economics for Nicodemus (1927) Novius Organum: Essays in a New Metaphysic (1931) An Introduction to Pneumatology (1932) Religion and History (1934) Evolution Without Natural Selection (1937)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Clark McKerrow

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Clark McKerrow 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 James Clark McKerrow 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 James Clark McKerrow 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 James Clark McKerrow

In research: James Clark McKerrow 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 James Clark McKerrow 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: James Clark McKerrow is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1887 births, 1965 deaths, 20th-century British medical doctors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Clark McKerrow 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “James Clark McKerrow” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study James Clark McKerrow in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is James Clark McKerrow in simple terms?

James Clark McKerrow (21 May 1887 – 1965) was a British physician and philosopher. Biography McKerrow was born on 21 May 1887 in Workington.

Why does James Clark McKerrow 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 James Clark McKerrow?

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 James Clark McKerrow.