science

Mostly Murder

Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder rather than just read about it. In short: Mostly Murder is the 1959 autobiography of forensic pathologist Sir Sydney Smith. Background The book is a memoir about the most notorious crimes Smith solved in his career, which extended across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Egypt and Sri Lanka.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Mostly Murder is the 1959 autobiography of forensic pathologist Sir Sydney Smith.

Background The book is a memoir about the most notorious crimes Smith solved in his career, which extended across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Egypt and Sri Lanka. The book has run through many British and American editions and has been translated into several languages.

Selected cases Hopetoun quarry murder (1913)Conviction of Patrick Higgins of Winchburgh for the double homicide of his two children and dumping their bodies in the quarry, which resulted in Scotland's first execution of the twentieth century. Assassination of Governor-General Sirdar (1924)Apprehension of the assassins of British Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Major-General Lee Stack, who was mortally shot while driving through Cairo. Sidney Fox matricide trial (1929)Unraveling of the plot and subsequent conviction of career swindler Sidney Harry Fox for the murder of his mother. Annie Hearn arsenic trial (1931)The highly controversial Annie Hearn arsenic poisoning accusation where the defense came up with scientific evidence which overrode the prosecution's circumstantial evidence. Strangulation of Chrissie Gall: suicide or homicide? (1931)The repudiation of expert opinion and highly controversial wrongful conviction of Peter Queen for the murder of Chrissie Gall. Sydney shark case (1935)The bizarre case of a 12-foot shark regurgitating a severed human arm in an Australian aquarium, and the subsequent investigation determining both victim and the cause of death. Ruxton double murder (1935)Establishing the precedent of forensic skull-to-face superimposition, and conviction of Dr. Buck Ruxton for the double homicide, mutilation and dismemberment of his wife Isabella Kerr-Ruxton and their family housemaid Mary Jane Rogerson. Capturing the Falkirk burglar (1937)Apprehension of the Falkirk burglar through pioneering the field of forensic podiatry. Acquittal of Mahadevan Sathasivam (1951)Acquittal of Sri Lankan cricketer Mahadevan Sathasivam of the murder of his wife Paripoornam Ananda Rajendra, and the conviction of servant Hewa Marambage William.

References

External links Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "Smith, Sir Sydney Alfred" by Francis Camps

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mostly Murder

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder

In research: Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder 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: Mostly Murder is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950s memoirs, 1959 English-language non-fiction books, 1959 non-fiction books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Mostly Murder in simple terms?

Mostly Murder is the 1959 autobiography of forensic pathologist Sir Sydney Smith. Background The book is a memoir about the most notorious crimes Smith solved in his career, which extended across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Egypt and Sri Lanka.

Why does Mostly Murder 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 Mostly Murder?

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 Mostly Murder.