astronomy

James Hurford

James Hurford 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 Hurford rather than just read about it. In short: James Raymond Hurford, FBA (born 16 July 1941) is a retired linguist and academic. He was the General Editor of the book series Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language, as well as a member of the Centre for Language Evolution (formerly Language Evolution and Computation) research group at the University of Edinburgh where he is an emeritus professor.

Key takeaways

James Hurford 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 Hurford to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James Hurford from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

James Raymond Hurford, FBA (born 16 July 1941) is a retired linguist and academic. He was the General Editor of the book series Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language, as well as a member of the Centre for Language Evolution (formerly Language Evolution and Computation) research group at the University of Edinburgh where he is an emeritus professor. He also helped organize the series of International Conferences on the Evolution of Language, of which he was one of the founders. Hurford was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2015.

Publications Source:

2014 The Origins of Language: A Slim Guide 2011 The Origins of Grammar: Language in the Light of Evolution 2007 The Origins of Meaning: Language in the Light of Evolution 1994 Grammar: a Student's Guide 1987 Language and Number: the emergence of a cognitive system 1983 Semantics: a Coursebook 1975 The Linguistic Theory of Numerals As Editor:

2000 The Evolutionary Emergence of Language: Social function and the origins of linguistic form, edited by Chris Knight, Michael Studdert-Kennedy and James R Hurford 1998 Approaches to the Evolution of Language: social and cognitive bases, edited by James R Hurford, Michael Studdert-Kennedy and Chris Knight.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Hurford

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Hurford 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 Hurford 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 Hurford 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 Hurford

In research: James Hurford 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 Hurford 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 Hurford is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, Academics of the University of Edinburgh, Fellows of the British Academy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Hurford 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 James Hurford in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is James Hurford in simple terms?

Why does James Hurford 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 Hurford?

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 Hurford.