astronomy

Norman J. W. Thrower

Norman J. W. Thrower is a astronomy 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 Norman J. W. Thrower rather than just read about it. In short: Norman J. W.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Norman J. W. Thrower (1919–2020) was an American scholar noted for his work in history, geography, and surveying practices. His areas of expertise included mapping, surveying, Sir Francis Drake, Isaac Newton, Edmond Halley. He was also a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and authored several books.

Personal life Norman Thrower was born in England in 1919 and died in 2020. He was a veteran of World War II and served in India. After the war, Thrower became involved with the Directorate of Colonial Surveys which was later re-named the Directorate of Overseas Surveys.

Professional life In 1953, Thrower was awarded his Bachelor of Arts in geography from the University of Virginia. Subsequently, he attended the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. in 1958, also in geography. The subject of Thrower’s dissertation was cadastral surveying, and in 1966 the dissertation was published by the Association of American Geographers. In 1957, Thrower began working at the University of California, Los Angeles as a professor and retired from the university in 1990. While at UCLA, Thrower specialized in cartography, remote sensing, and Europe. He was associated with the director of the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and directed the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Programs at the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He was also the director of UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Thrower has notes, papers, and correspondence archived at UCLA. In addition to his work at UCLA, Thrower was also involved with other organizations. From 1973 to 1975, he was President of the Society for the History of Discoveries. Thrower held the position as the founding President of the California Map Society in 1979. And from 1975 to 1981 Thrower served as President for the State of California’s Sir Francis Drake Commission.

Selected bibliography of Thrower’s works Thrower, Norman J.W. (1972). Maps & Man: An Examination of Cartography in Relation to Culture and Civilization. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Thrower, Norman J.W. (1981). The Three Voyages of Edmond Halley in the Paramore, 1698-1701. London: Hakluyt Society. Thrower, Norman J.W. (1990). Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: A Longer View of Newton and Halley. Berkeley: University of California Press. Thrower, Norman J.W. (1996). Maps and Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Thrower, Norman J.W. (1999). Maps and Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Thrower, Norman J.W. (2008). Maps and Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society (3rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

References

Websites

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Norman J. W. Thrower

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Norman J. W. Thrower claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 Norman J. W. Thrower 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 Norman J. W. Thrower 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 Norman J. W. Thrower

In research: Norman J. W. Thrower appears in astronomy 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 Norman J. W. Thrower 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: Norman J. W. Thrower is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1919 births, 2020 deaths, 20th-century American geographers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Norman J. W. Thrower 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Norman J. W. Thrower” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Norman J. W. Thrower in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Norman J. W. Thrower in simple terms?

Norman J. W.

Why does Norman J. W. Thrower matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 Norman J. W. Thrower?

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 Norman J. W. Thrower.