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astronomy

Roland Littlewood

Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood rather than just read about it. In short: Roland Martin Littlewood FRAI (2 February 1947 – 22 November 2025) was a British anthropologist and psychiatrist, and Professor of Anthropology and Psychiatry at University College London. He was the co-author (with Maurice Lipsedge) of the book Aliens and Alienists, now in its third edition.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Roland Martin Littlewood FRAI (2 February 1947 – 22 November 2025) was a British anthropologist and psychiatrist, and Professor of Anthropology and Psychiatry at University College London. He was the co-author (with Maurice Lipsedge) of the book Aliens and Alienists, now in its third edition. During his career, he was President of the Royal Anthropological Institute from 1994 to 1997. Littlewood had interests in the (medical and social) anthropology of the Caribbean, Albania and Britain. He wrote extensively about the diagnosis of the black immigrant population in the UK. Littlewood died on 22 November 2025, at the age of 78.

Published works (selection) With Edmund Leach, Meyer Fortes: Pathology and identity. The Work of Mother Earth in Trinidad. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993, ISBN 0-521-02615-6 (also reprinted in 2006). The Butterfly and the serpent. Essays in psychiatry, race and religion. Free Association Books, London 1998, ISBN 1-85343-399-3. Ed.: Cultural psychiatry & medical anthropology. An introduction and reader. Athlone Press, London 2000, ISBN 0-485-11527-1. Religion, agency, restitution. The Wilde lectures in natural religion 1999. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-924197-X. Pathologies of the West. An anthropology of mental illness in Europe and America. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y. 2002, ISBN 0-8014-3934-5. With Maurice Lipsedge: Aliens and alienists. Ethnic minorities and psychiatry. Penguin, Harmondsworth 1982. (3rd Edition. Routledge, Hove 2004, ISBN 0-415-15724-2). On knowing and not knowing in the anthropology of medicine. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California 2007, ISBN 978-1-59874-275-6.

References

External links Roland Littlewood In conversation with Rosalind Ramsay., in Psychiatric Bulletin, Band 23, 1999, S. 733–739

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roland Littlewood

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood

In research
Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood 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
Roland Littlewood is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1947 births, 2025 deaths, Academics of University College London, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Roland Littlewood means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Roland Littlewood out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Roland Littlewood in simple terms?

Roland Martin Littlewood FRAI (2 February 1947 – 22 November 2025) was a British anthropologist and psychiatrist, and Professor of Anthropology and Psychiatry at University College London. He was the co-author (with Maurice Lipsedge) of the book Aliens and Alienists, now in its third edition.

Why does Roland Littlewood 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 Roland Littlewood?

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 Roland Littlewood.

Tags

  • 1947 births
  • 2025 deaths
  • Academics of University College London
  • Anthropologist stubs
  • British anthropologists
  • British medical biography stubs
  • British psychiatrists
  • British scientist stubs
  • Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
  • People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys
  • Presidents of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Psychiatrist stubs

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