astronomy

Juha Pentikäinen

Juha Pentikäinen 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 Juha Pentikäinen rather than just read about it. In short: Juha Pentikäinen (born 26 February 1940) is a professor emeritus of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Helsinki and a professor of northern ethnography at the University of Lapland and the Institute for Northern Culture in Helsinki. With a fieldwork oriented approach to the study of religious traditions, he is especially interested in the oral history of languages, religions and cultures.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Juha Pentikäinen (born 26 February 1940) is a professor emeritus of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Helsinki and a professor of northern ethnography at the University of Lapland and the Institute for Northern Culture in Helsinki. With a fieldwork oriented approach to the study of religious traditions, he is especially interested in the oral history of languages, religions and cultures.

Research He has research interests in religious traditions in the Finnish culture, and their psychological effects on humans. Along with many guest professorships, he has appeared to speak at over 100 Universities in numerous different countries. Based upon his work, other professors (i.e. Veikko Anttonen and Nils G. Holm) in his field have analyzed his approach towards the studies of religion.

Recognition and publications He is recipient of many awards and honors including the 3rd honorary medal of the international society for research for the lifetime career as the scholar of shamanism in 1999. His publications since 1960 include 30 books, 250 scholarly articles, and 15 films. In 1995 he was nominated to membership of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. He is most known for his book Kalevala Mythology, which is an in-depth analysis of Elias Lönnrot's epic Kalevala. He analyzes both the career background and life of Lönnrot. Then he analyzes the epic, and the differences between the two versions that Lönnrot wrote. He reveals the flaws within the epic and presents the argument that the epic instilled a spirit of national romanticism within the Finnish society, which makes it so significant to the Finnish culture.

Personal life His father Veikko Pentikäinen (1909–1992) was an influential Laestadian Lutheran priest. His uncle Vilho Pentikäinen (b. 1903), a lieutenant serving as a photographer for the General Staff of the Finnish army, was discovered in 1933 spying for the Soviet Union. The uncle fled to the Soviets, and later served as a Soviet officer in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and in Leningrad and Estonia during the Winter War. Responding to an inquiry by Juha Pentikäinen in 2007, the Russian intelligence service FSB stated that his uncle had died of starvation in a prison camp in March 1942, convicted of spying for Finland; however, some researchers believe he continued to serve in Soviet military intelligence and died in 1967.

Publications The Nordic Dead-Child Tradition: Nordic Dead-Child Beings — A Study in Comparative Religion. Translated by Antony Landon. FF Communications 202. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1968. Oral Repertoire and World View. An Anthropological Study of Marina Takalo’s Life History. FF Communications 219. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1978. ISBN 9789514103209. Kalevalan mytologia [Kalevala Mythology]. Helsinki: Gaudeamus, 1987. ISBN 951-662-403-0. Kalevala Mythology. Folklore Studies in Translation. Edited and translated by Ritva Poom. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1989 (first edition), 1999 (expanded edition). ISBN 978-0253213525. Shamanism and Culture. Helsinki: Etnika, 1998. ISBN 9519788905. Golden King of the Forest: The Lore of the Northern Bear. Edited and translated by Clive Tolley. Helsinki: Etnika, 2007. ISBN 978-9519788975.

As editor Uralic Mythology and Folklore. With Mihály Hoppál. Ethnologica Uralica 1. Budapest: Ethnographic Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society, 1989. ISBN 9789517175517. Northern Religions and Shamanism. With Mihály Hoppál. Ethnologica Uralica 69. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society, 1992. ISBN 9789517177238 Shamanism and Northern Ecology. New York: De Gruyter, 1998. ISBN 3-11-014186-8. Sami Folkloristics. NNF Publications 6. Turku: Nordic Network of Folklore, 2000. ISBN 9789521206283. The Finnish Sauna, the Japanese Guro, the Indian Inipi: Bathing on Three Continents. Helsinki: Rakennustieto, 2001. ISBN 9789516825901. Shamanhood: Symbolism and Epic. In collaboration with Hanna Saressalo and Chuner M. Taksami. Religion and Society 36. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 2001. ISBN 9789630578110 Shamanhood: An Endangered Language. With Peter Simoncsics. Oslo: Novus Forlag, 2005. ISBN 82-7099-391-3.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Juha Pentikäinen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Juha Pentikäinen 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 Juha Pentikäinen 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 Juha Pentikäinen 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 Juha Pentikäinen

In research: Juha Pentikäinen 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 Juha Pentikäinen 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: Juha Pentikäinen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1940 births, Academic staff of the University of Helsinki, Finnish scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Juha Pentikäinen 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 “Juha Pentikäinen” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Juha Pentikäinen in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Juha Pentikäinen in simple terms?

Why does Juha Pentikäinen 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 Juha Pentikäinen?

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 Juha Pentikäinen.