Nils Olof Mustelin (11 August 1931 in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

– 28 April 2004 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

) was a Finnish professor of physics, noted astronomer, and popular

skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

. Mustelin was born in

(Åbo in Swedish), where he also went to school and attended university. He enrolled at the

Åbo Akademi Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city and former Capital city, capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura (Archipelago Sea), Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland, Finland Proper ...

in 1949 and studied physics, graduating as a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1963. He also studied theoretical physics for two years at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, USA. He worked in many places, including the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

; Nordforsk, an institute for technological research collaboration among the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland); Tekes, ''Teknologian edistämiskeskus'' ("Center for Advancement of Technology") and

COST In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...

. After retiring he was a member of the Helsinki city council, representing the Swedish People's Party. Mustelin was known for his many scientific essays, articles, and books, primarily his astronomic book ''Liv Bland Miljarder Stjärnor, Civilisationer i Vintergatan och Därbortom?'' ("Life Among Billions of Stars, Civilizations in the Milky Way and Beyond?"). The book, published in 1978, discussed how life has emerged and evolved on Earth and how life could possibly exist on other planets and outside the solar system. It was translated from Swedish to Finnish, Norwegian, and Danish. He is also famous for inventing tramology (Finnish ''sporalogia''), a parody of

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

based on the scientific fact that trams exert a greater force of gravity on a city's inhabitants than planets because they are so much closer. He was the chairman of

Skepsis ry Skepsis is a scientific skepticism organization of Finland founded in 1987. Purpose Its mission is to promote objective, impartial and critical investigation of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Skepsis organizes public lectures and publis ...

, the Finnish Association of Skeptics, from 1989 to 1992. Nils Mustelin was an expert on classical music, with vast knowledge about composers, musicians, and various facts, and could identify specific compositions by ear. For example, he memorized the entire catalog of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's work and could name the Köchel number of any of Mozart's compositions. Mustelin often appeared on TV and radio in various panels and competitions related to classical music, physics, mathematics, and astronomy. Nils Mustelin had four children: Tomas Mikael (1960), Tove Carina (1962), and Tor Niklas (1966), all three with Nina Estelle Mustelin, born Costiander. He had a fourth child, Linda Marina Mustelin with his second wife, Eeva-Riitta Mustelin, née Kurki. Nils Mustelin died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

on 28 April 2004. Mustelin was the maternal grandfather of Finnish-American basketball player Jacob Grandison.

Sources

Mustelin, Nils
in ''Uppslagsverket Finland'' (in Swedish).

(in Finnish).
Obituary for Nils Mustelin in ''Hufvudstadsbladet''
(in Swedish).
Nils Mustelin's web pages
(mostly in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and Finnish), created when Nils Mustelin was nominated as a candidate in the 1999 parliamentary election.

Sources

Notes

Further reading