astronomy

Richard Huxtable

Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Huxtable (born 1974) is the Director and Professor in Medical Ethics and Law at the Centre for Ethics in Medicine, at the University of Bristol. He is known principally for his work on legal and ethical issues in end-of-life decision-making and euthanasia, surgery and paediatrics and is the author of a number of books on these themes; Law, Ethics and Compromise at the Limits of Life: To Treat or Not to Treat?

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Huxtable (born 1974) is the Director and Professor in Medical Ethics and Law at the Centre for Ethics in Medicine, at the University of Bristol. He is known principally for his work on legal and ethical issues in end-of-life decision-making and euthanasia, surgery and paediatrics and is the author of a number of books on these themes; Law, Ethics and Compromise at the Limits of Life: To Treat or Not to Treat? (2012), Euthanasia, Ethics and the Law: From Conflict to Compromise (2007) and (with Dickenson & Parker) The Cambridge Medical Ethics Workbook (CUP, 2nd edn, 2010). He has also produced numerous chapters, and articles for both academic journals and mainstream newspapers. Huxtable is best known for his controversial position on the role of "principled compromise" in responding to conflict over the care of a critically ill, incapacitated patient. Huxtable has argued that the law governing both the welfare (or "best interests") of the patient and any wishes they might have conveyed, via an "advance directive" or through the appointment of a "lasting power of attorney", frequently fail to furnish clinicians and families with the guidance they require in these difficult cases. He has proposed that there is a case for "principled compromise" here, and has argued for greater ethical engagement, through a reinvigorated system of clinical ethics support, in which committees work alongside the courts to resolve the conflicts that can arise at the limits of life.

Education and career Born and educated in South Wales, Richard Huxtable studied Law at the University of Nottingham before completing a PhD on Assisted Dying and English Law at the University of Bristol, where he now teaches. He has held visiting positions at the Ethox Centre in the University of Oxford, the Centre for Biomedical Ethics in the National University of Singapore and the Hastings Center, New York. A long-standing participant in clinical ethics consultation, Huxtable is a member of the UHBT Clinical Ethics Advisory Group and a Trustee of both the UK Clinical Ethics Network and of the National Council for Palliative Care. His research has been funded by organisations including the Wellcome Trust and the European Commission and he has given invited presentations at the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal College of Surgeons. He has given expert evidence to The Commission on Assisted Dying which was run by the UK think tank Demos.

Publications

Books Euthanasia: All That Matters (2013, London: Hodder). Law, Ethics and Compromise at the Limits of Life: To Treat or Not to Treat? (2012, London: Routledge). (with D. Dickenson, & M. Parker) The Cambridge Medical Ethics Workbook (2010, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Euthanasia, Ethics and the Law: From Conflict to Compromise (2007, London: Routledge-Cavendish).

Contributions (Baxter, M.G. Brennan, Y. Coldicott and M. Möller, with D. Bowman, R. Huxtable, and B. Shannon) The Practical Guide to Medical Ethics and Law: For Junior Doctors and Medical Students (2005, 2nd edition, Cheshire: PasTest Ltd),

Other publications "Opinion: The Edge of Life". New Scientist. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Huxtable

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable

In research: Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable 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: Richard Huxtable is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1974 births, Academics of the University of Bristol, Alumni of the University of Nottingham, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Huxtable in simple terms?

Why does Richard Huxtable 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 Richard Huxtable?

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 Richard Huxtable.