computer science

Ma Xiaohai

Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai rather than just read about it. In short: Ma Xiaohai (Chinese: 马尧海) is a former computer science professor at Nanjing Tech University arrested in 2009 for organising wife-swapping events. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail, "a more severe punishment because he did not admit the malicious and illegal nature of his conduct," according to the court.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Ma Xiaohai (Chinese: 马尧海) is a former computer science professor at Nanjing Tech University arrested in 2009 for organising wife-swapping events. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail, "a more severe punishment because he did not admit the malicious and illegal nature of his conduct," according to the court. His arrest and prosecution became the topic of discussion around sexual freedom in China.

Background Ma graduated from Zhejiang University in 1978 and was admitted to a master's degree program at Harbin Institute of Technology in 1986. In November 1994 he transferred to Nanjing Tech University. Ma was divorced twice before he started participating in partner-swapping. At the time of the prosecution, Ma was 53 years old and working as a professor of computer science at Nanjing Tech University.

Swinging and prosecution Ma first experimented with swinging in 2004. He started an online chatroom called “Independent Travel for Husbands, Wives and Lovers” in 2007. In the alleged "swingers trial" in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, he was the only one among 21 defendants to have pleaded "not guilty" to accusations of "group licentiousness" (聚众淫乱罪). The activities took place from 2007, and from September 2009 he was under police surveillance. Ma was defended online by renowned Chinese sexologist Li Yinhe. Because of the prosecution, Ma resigned from his position at Nanjing Technical University.

See also Harmonious society Sexuality in China

References

External links (in Chinese) Hudong 马尧海

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ma Xiaohai

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai

In research: Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai 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: Ma Xiaohai is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010 in China, 21st-century Chinese criminals, Chinese academic biography stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Ma Xiaohai in simple terms?

Why does Ma Xiaohai 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 Ma Xiaohai?

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 Ma Xiaohai.