science

The Second Bounce of the Ball

The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball rather than just read about it. In short: The Second Bounce of the Ball: Turning Risk into Opportunity is a non-fiction book about entrepreneurship, written by Sir Ronald Cohen and first published in 2007 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. The book discusses what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, and contains biographical anecdotes from the author and the company he founded, Apax Partners.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Second Bounce of the Ball: Turning Risk into Opportunity is a non-fiction book about entrepreneurship, written by Sir Ronald Cohen and first published in 2007 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. The book discusses what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, and contains biographical anecdotes from the author and the company he founded, Apax Partners. The book's title comes from Cohen's incorrect belief that the second bounce of a ball is difficult to predict.

Reviews The book received positive reviews among the business literary critics. Robert Lenzner, editor of Forbes magazine, refers to Cohen as a modern-day version of Georges Doriot, one of the first American venture capitalists. In his review, he highlights the biographical aspect of the book, saying that it "is at bottom about how Cohen progressed from boutique investment banker earning fees on each transaction to the risky business of financing start-up companies, and from there to the more solidly rewarding buyout or private equity business." Jonathan Guthrie, from the Financial Times, disagrees. He says that the book "is not an autobiography. But it is one of the best books written on entrepreneurship in recent years." In the review, he stated that some of the advice provided in the book can be found in other business self-help books, but says that Sir Ronald's "analysis of entrepreneurship is broader and subtler than in most titles."

Publishing information Cohen, Ronald (November 2007). The Second Bounce of the Ball: Turning Risk into Opportunity. London: Weidefeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-85148-6.

References

External links 'Second Bounce' extract, published in The Sunday Times Official web page, from Ronald Cohen.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Second Bounce of the Ball

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball

In research: The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball 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: The Second Bounce of the Ball is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2007 non-fiction books, Apax Partners, Autobiographies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is The Second Bounce of the Ball in simple terms?

Why does The Second Bounce of the Ball 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 The Second Bounce of the Ball?

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 The Second Bounce of the Ball.