Why your Dobble cards always match
Dobble: a game played by kids, but still very popular among adults. In the game, you have to draw two random cards and place them face-up on the table between all the players. Then, you have to look for the identical symbol between the two cards. Between every two...
Impression of the VESTING Introduction Weekend
By Otis de Waal For the first time in two years the VESTING Introduction Weekend could take place without any covid-restrictions, and what a weekend it was! It was in the days before the academic year was set to begin, so high time for the first year econometrics...
Gabriel’s Horn Paradox
Some people just die too soon. One such person was Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian mathematician who died at the age of 39 in the year of 1647. Had Torricelli lived longer, he just might have discovered calculus, before Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz....
Why do we count in base 10?
What is two plus two? The realist will say four, the computer will say 100, and the cynic will say 5 – but which is correct? The reason we count in base 10 stems from the simplest fact: humans have 10 fingers. Understandable and logical, as this seems to be nature’s...
Tornado Cash
Tornado Cash is a tool used on the blockchain. Specifically on the Ethereum blockchain and is known as a crypto mixer. Recently Tornado Cash has been in the news because it has been added to the Specially Designated National & Blocked Persons List (SDN). This...
The Belsimpel Experience
By Jelle Bezemer Introduction I think it’s best this to start this article with an introduction of Belsimpel. In 2006, 23-year-old Jeroen Elkhuizen, who studied law & philosophy, and 21-year-old Jeroen Doorenbos, who studied Medicine created metjelaptoponline.nl...
Rising inflation and the Taylor Rule
I recently noticed that in the last few months, my favorite pack of oatmeal went up in price by 40%, from 50 cents to a whopping 70. Not only that, but the beers at the ‘Negende Cirkel’ have probably increased as well (I have to check it when I am sober, though)....
How long can one survive without sleep?
Terror, hallucinations, paranoia, psychosis. The effects of sleep deprivation are not just devastating, they can last for life - but just how long can you survive without any sleep? 24 hours with no sleep Most people have gone a full day without sleep several times in...
Portfolio dynamics 101
A portfolio is a collection of financial investments like stocks, bonds, commodities, cash, and cash equivalents, including closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). People generally believe that stocks, bonds, and cash comprise the core of a portfolio....
Win a stage in the Tour de France using Mathematics
In seventeen days, it is the most wonderful time of the year for cycling fans: the Tour de France will start again. This year, the Tour will cover a total distance of 3328 kilometers through four different countries over a total of 24 days, in which only three rest...
Are you living inside a black hole?
In 1915 Einstein wrote the leading description of gravitation in modern physics, also known as the general theory of relativity. This theory describes the universe so well that it never fails, except for the Big Bang and at centres of black holes, both are...
Getting Featured on TikTok’s ‘For You’ Page
You have probably heard of it: TikTok. The widely popular app that came to existence after the acquisition of the video startup Musical.ly by the Chinese company ByteDance. Today, the app is used by almost 1.3 billion monthly active users, far more than Twitter and...
Why Mathematics is a Language
Mathematics is considered the heart of the beta-field, whereas languages are by definition alpha. One could say, therefore, that mathematics and language are direct opposites. Yet, mathematics is sometimes called the language of science and considering the definition...
The rise of pitch invasions
With the conclusion of the English football season, emotions always seem to run high. The fear of relegation or the thrill of a promotion or even a championship tend to do that to football fans. After the final whistle it is not rare for fans to spill out of the...