computer science

John Fairclough

John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough rather than just read about it. In short: Sir John Whitaker Fairclough (23 August 1930 – 5 June 2003) was a British computer designer, and later government policy advisor. Education John Fairclough was educated at Thirsk Grammar School and then studied electrical engineering at Manchester University, before undertaking national service with the RAF.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sir John Whitaker Fairclough (23 August 1930 – 5 June 2003) was a British computer designer, and later government policy advisor.

Education John Fairclough was educated at Thirsk Grammar School and then studied electrical engineering at Manchester University, before undertaking national service with the RAF.

Career In 1954, he joined the Ferranti computer department and in 1957 he moved to IBM, including working in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. He returned to the UK to be the Managing Director of IBM Hursley near Winchester in 1974. During 1986–90, Fairclough was Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher. He left the Cabinet Office and was knighted in 1990. That year, he joined the Board of NM Rothschild and Sons in 1990, becoming Chairman of its venture capital section. He was also involved with a number of start-up companies. He was President of the British Computer Society (1997–98).

Personal life He married his first wife, Margaret Harvey, in 1954. After her death in 1996, he married his second wife, Karen, in 2000. He had two sons and a daughter from his first marriage.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Fairclough

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough

In research: John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough 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: John Fairclough is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1930 births, 2003 deaths, Alumni of the University of Manchester, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is John Fairclough in simple terms?

Sir John Whitaker Fairclough (23 August 1930 – 5 June 2003) was a British computer designer, and later government policy advisor. Education John Fairclough was educated at Thirsk Grammar School and then studied electrical engineering at Manchester University, before undertaking national service wit…

Why does John Fairclough 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 John Fairclough?

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 John Fairclough.