science

Leo Jolley

Leo Jolley is a 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 Leo Jolley rather than just read about it. In short: Leo Jolley (19 Aug 1920, Preston – 25 Dec 1976, Great Missenden) was an English information scientist who chaired the Co‐ordinate Indexing Group of the Association of Specialist Libraries and Information Bureaux in the 1960s. In 1977 Jolley was described by Keith Albarn and Jennifer Miall Smith as being one of the foremost thinkers in the area of data handling shortly after his death.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Leo Jolley (19 Aug 1920, Preston – 25 Dec 1976, Great Missenden) was an English information scientist who chaired the Co‐ordinate Indexing Group of the Association of Specialist Libraries and Information Bureaux in the 1960s. In 1977 Jolley was described by Keith Albarn and Jennifer Miall Smith as being one of the foremost thinkers in the area of data handling shortly after his death. They highlighted this through his conception of the holotheme as a demonstrable form of an inherent structure present in all knowledge. Jolley was born John Lionel Jolley on 19 Aug 1920 in Grove House Nursing Home, Preston, Lancashire. His father was John Ernest Jolley and his mother Ethel Birch. He married Jessie Marian Holman. They had 4 children, a son and 3 daughters the eldest of whom died in childhood.

The Fabric of Knowledge (1976) The Foreword was provided by Clive W. Kilmister, Professor of Mathematics, at King's College London. Kilmister praises Jolley for an approach centred on the social sciences, economics, politics and management. He then remarks: "The order and system that Mr. Jolley brings to the modern world of mathematics (specially algebra and analysis) is quite striking. It would not be true to say that there was previously chaus here, but the most avowedly systematic account, say by the Bourbaki school is of an unsatisfactory basis." (Nicolas Bourbaki was a multiple-use name used by a group of predominantly French mathematicians beginning in the 1930s.) "A starting point for Bouraki is what is known as a set, a collection of things of any sort whatever."

Works Much of his work appeared in Aslib Proceedings:

(1963) "The Mechanics of Coordinate Indexing and its relation to other Indexing Methods" Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 161-169. (1967) "The Logic of Coordinate Indexing" Vol. 19 No. 9, pp. 295-309 Books:

(1968) Data Study, London (1973) The Fabric of Knowledge, London: Duckworth

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leo Jolley

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leo Jolley claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In 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 Leo Jolley 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 Leo Jolley 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 Leo Jolley

In research: Leo Jolley appears in 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 Leo Jolley 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: Leo Jolley is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1920 births, 1976 deaths, Information scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leo Jolley 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 Leo Jolley in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Leo Jolley in simple terms?

Why does Leo Jolley matter?

Because it connects several 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 Leo Jolley?

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 Leo Jolley.