science

Newfangle

Newfangle 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 Newfangle rather than just read about it. In short: Newfangle is a BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by Adam Rosenthal and Viv Ambrose, first broadcast on 1 June 2009. The series is set hundreds of thousands of years ago amongst a tribe of proto-humans.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Newfangle is a BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by Adam Rosenthal and Viv Ambrose, first broadcast on 1 June 2009. The series is set hundreds of thousands of years ago amongst a tribe of proto-humans. Newfangle (played by Russell Tovey), is a low status member of his tribe who tries to improve his status in the tribe by coming up with new inventions such as language, fire and money. However, all of his inventions are stolen by the tribe's alpha male, Alf (Hugh Bonneville).

Plot Newfangle is a low status member of an early tribe of proto-humans living hundreds of thousands of years ago. What time exactly is unknown and different times are given on different websites. The BBC website says it takes place in 100,000 B.C., while an earlier statement from the BBC Press Office said it was set, "hundreds of thousands of years ago", and the website for the show's production company, Above the Title Productions, claims it is set two million years ago. Newfangle's father, Fangle, was the alpha male before he was ambushed and killed by the current alpha male Alf. Newfangle tries to constantly improve his position in the tribe by inventing new things such as language, warfare and music. However, Alf constantly steals Newfangle's ideas in order to keep his position. Newfangle also tries to use his ideas to impress other members of the tribe, especially a female he is in love with, Snaggle (Pippa Evans) but his ideas tend to fail rather than impress. Although, in the last episode, she confesses her love for Newfangle to the Voice in the Tree-Stump (unaware it is Newfangle) He also tries to impress his mother Coco (Maureen Lipman), but she considers him to be weak and places more confidence in Newfangle's half-brother Crag (Gabriel Vick).

Reception Newfangle received positive reviews. Gillian Reynolds from the Daily Telegraph described it as a, "Thoughtful, inventive comedy", adding, "Soon prehistory turns out to quite a lot like life anywhere, anytime. But funnier." Frances Lass from the Radio Times also praised the programme saying that:

"I love this. I love everything about it - from Russell Tovey's aping of the lowly hominid of the title who invents language to express his unrequited love and his protests about always being beaten up by the alpha male, to Adam Rosenthal and Viv Ambrose's gloriously scrumptious and clever script. Set in the primordial mud, a group of apes on the brink of evolving into humans grapple with those things that progress entails. And yet, their hierarchies and obsessions seem awfully familiar and modern. Probably coming to a TV series near you. Og me if it doesn't!"

Episodes

References General "Newfangle - Episode Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 June 2009. Specific

External links Newfangle at BBC Online

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Newfangle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Newfangle 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 Newfangle 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 Newfangle 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 Newfangle

In research: Newfangle 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 Newfangle 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: Newfangle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2009 radio programme debuts, BBC Radio 4 programmes, BBC Radio comedy programmes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Newfangle 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 Newfangle in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Newfangle in simple terms?

Newfangle is a BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by Adam Rosenthal and Viv Ambrose, first broadcast on 1 June 2009. The series is set hundreds of thousands of years ago amongst a tribe of proto-humans.

Why does Newfangle 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 Newfangle?

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 Newfangle.