astronomy

Tatu Vanhanen

Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen rather than just read about it. In short: Tatu Vanhanen (17 April 1929 – 22 August 2015) was a Finnish political scientist and sociologist. He was a professor of political science at the University of Tampere in Tampere, Finland.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Tatu Vanhanen (17 April 1929 – 22 August 2015) was a Finnish political scientist and sociologist. He was a professor of political science at the University of Tampere in Tampere, Finland. His late research on IQ, ethnocentrism and their connection to the economy was highly controversial. Vanhanen was a coauthor with Richard Lynn of IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002) and IQ and Global Inequality (2006), and author of Ethnic Conflicts Explained by Ethnic Nepotism (1999). In these controversial publications, the authors argue that differences in national income (in the form of per capita gross domestic product) are correlated with differences in the average national intelligence quotient (IQ). The 2006 follow-up study, later described by ScienceDaily as 'deeply flawed', claimed to show 'Africans' have an average IQ of 69, compared to a mean of 100 for "Western Europeans". The books have drawn widespread criticism from other academics. Critiques have included questioning of the methodology used, the incompleteness of the data, and the conclusions drawn from the analysis.

Work

Vanhanen developed an interest in evolutionary biology after studying E. O. Wilson's sociobiology and later in his career wrote about intelligence and inequality. He supported applying evolutionary and genetic methods to social sciences. However, most of his academic work dealt with democratization, which he had studied with international comparative methods. Vanhanen was known for his Index of Democratization. In 2004, the Ombudsman of Minorities, Mikko Puumalainen, asked the police to start an investigation regarding Vanhanen's interview with a Helsingin Sanomat magazine Kuukausiliite, in which he stated that "Whereas the average IQ of Finns is 97, in Africa it is between 60 and 70. Differences in intelligence are the most significant factor in explaining poverty". The Finnish National Bureau of Investigations was considering launching a preliminary investigation on Vanhanen's speech but later decided against it, not finding that he had incited hatred against an ethnic group or committed any other crime.

Personal life Tatu Vanhanen was married to Anni Tiihonen and had three sons. One of them, Matti Vanhanen, was the Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. Vanhanen died on 22 August 2015 after a long period of illness, aged 86.

Bibliography in English

Books Vanhanen, Tatu (1975). Political and social structures: American countries, 1850-1973. Tampere, Finland: Tampere University Press. ISBN 9789514403019. Vanhanen, Tatu (1976). Political and social structures: Part 2: European countries 1850-1974. Tampere, Finland: Tampere University Press. ISBN 9780835702539. Vanhanen, Tatu (1978). Multi-party democracy in action. Tampere, Finland: Tampere University Press. ISBN 9789514406935. Vanhanen, Tatu (1979). Power and the means of power: a study of 119 Asian, European, American, and African states, 1850-1975. University Microfilms International. ISBN 9780835703987. Vanhanen, Tatu (1990). The process of democratization: A comparative study of 147 states 1980–1988. Crane Russak. ISBN 9780844816401. Vanhanen, Tatu (1991). Politics of ethnic nepotism: India as an example. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 9788120711761. Vanhanen, Tatu (1992). Strategies of democratization. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780844817200. Vanhanen, Tatu (1992). On the evolutionary roots of politics. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 9788120714212. Vanhanen, Tatu; Pridham, Geoffrey (1994). Democratization in Eastern Europe: Domestic and international perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 9780415110648. Vanhanen, Tatu (1997). Prospects of democracy: A study of 172 countries. Routledge. ISBN 9780415144063. Vanhanen, Tatu (1999). Ethnic conflicts explained by ethnic nepotism. Research in Biopolitics. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 9780762305834. Vanhanen, Tatu; Lynn, Richard (2002). IQ and the wealth of nations. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 9780275975104. Vanhanen, Tatu (2003). Democratization: A comparative analysis of 170 countries. Routledge. ISBN 9780415318600. Vanhanen, Tatu (2009). The limits of democratization: Climate, intelligence, and resource distribution. Washington: Washington Summit Publishers. ISBN 9781593680312. Vanhanen, Tatu; Lynn, Richard (2012). Intelligence: A unifying construct for the social sciences. Ulster: Ulster Institute for Social Research. ISBN 9780956881175. Vanhanen, Tatu (2014). Global inequality as a consequence of human diversity: A new theory tested by empirical evidence. Ulster: Ulster Institute for Social Research. ISBN 9780957391376.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tatu Vanhanen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen

In research: Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen 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: Tatu Vanhanen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1929 births, 2015 deaths, Academic staff of the University of Tampere, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Tatu Vanhanen in simple terms?

Tatu Vanhanen (17 April 1929 – 22 August 2015) was a Finnish political scientist and sociologist. He was a professor of political science at the University of Tampere in Tampere, Finland.

Why does Tatu Vanhanen 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 Tatu Vanhanen?

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 Tatu Vanhanen.