mathematics

Sidney Michaelson

Sidney Michaelson is a mathematics 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 Sidney Michaelson rather than just read about it. In short: Sidney Michaelson (5 December 1925 – 21 February 1991) was Scotland's first professor of Computer Science. He was joint founder of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sidney Michaelson (5 December 1925 – 21 February 1991) was Scotland's first professor of Computer Science. He was joint founder of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. As an author he is remembered for his analysis of the Bible.

Life He was born on 5 December 1925 in the East End of London into a relatively poor family. He attended Raine's Foundation School. Academically brilliant he won a scholarship to Imperial College, London. He studied mathematics and graduated in 1946. Subsequently he was co-designer of the Imperial College Computing Engine with Tony Brooker and Ken Tocher. He began lecturing at Imperial College in 1949. In 1963 he moved to the University of Edinburgh as Director of its newly founded Computer Unit, and in 1969 became the first Professor of Computer Science. Notable students included Rosemary Candlin. In 1969 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Nicholas Kemmer, David Finney, Sir Michael Swann and Arthur Erdelyi. He died in Edinburgh on 21 February 1991.

Family His wife Kitty died in 1995. They had four children. One of his sons, Greg, is Professor Emeritus, School of Mathematical & Computer Sciences at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh

Recognition In 1991 the University of Edinburgh created the Sidney Michaelson Prize in Computer Science in his honour. Michaelson Square in Livingston is named in his memory.

Publications K. D. Tocher and S. Michaelson, The Imperial College Computing Engine, in R. V. Bowden (ed), Faster Than Thought, Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd, 1953, pp161-164. R. E. D. Bishop, G. M. L. Gladwell and S. Michaelson, The Matrix Analysis of Vibration, Cambridge University Press, 1965. S. Michaelson and A. Q. Morton, Positional Stylometry, in A. J. Aitken, R. W. Bailey and N. Hamilton-Smith, The Computer and Literary Studies, Edinburgh University Press, 1973, pp69-83. S. Michaelson, A. Q. Morton and N. Hamilton-Smith. To Couple is the Custom, CSR-22-78, Internal Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, Revised November 1978. S. Michaelson, A. Q. Morton and N. Hamilton-Smith, Justice for Helander, CSR-42-79, Internal Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, July 1979. A Critical Concordance of I and II Corinthians (1979) A Critical Concordance of the Letter of Paul to the Romans (1977) A. Q. Morton and S. Michaelson, The Qsum Plot, CSR-3-90, Internal Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, April 1990.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sidney Michaelson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sidney Michaelson claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, 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 Sidney Michaelson 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 Sidney Michaelson 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 Sidney Michaelson

In research: Sidney Michaelson appears in mathematics 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 Sidney Michaelson 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: Sidney Michaelson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1925 births, 1991 deaths, Academics of Imperial College London, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sidney Michaelson 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 Sidney Michaelson in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Sidney Michaelson in simple terms?

Sidney Michaelson (5 December 1925 – 21 February 1991) was Scotland's first professor of Computer Science. He was joint founder of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

Why does Sidney Michaelson matter?

Because it connects several mathematics 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 Sidney Michaelson?

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 Sidney Michaelson.