How to win Deal Or No Deal
Have you ever wondered whether there is a winning strategy when playing Deal Or No Deal? The game show might seem like a game of chance, as you choose a suitcase at random and are betting against a banker. However, the opposite is true: you can play according to a...
The moving sofa problem
Mathematics is undeniably beautiful in a certain way, providing us answers to many of life’s complex issues. It finds itself in all aspects of society, and has played a major role for thousands of years. However, despite our deep understanding, there are still many...
Dunning-Kruger Effect
How intelligent do you think you are? Can you accurately predict your own skill level or judge the intelligence of your ideas? In 1999, David Dunning and Justin Kruger, two social psychologists, discovered that people are exceptionally poor judges of their abilities,...
The Four-Color Theorem
The Four-Color Theorem is a theorem that has its roots in graph theory. The theorem states that any planar graph can be colored properly with four colors. Here properly colored means that no two vertices of the graph that are connected are colored using the same...
Why “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” Is Not Just Another Disney Song
"We Don't Talk About Bruno" is of course sung by Bruno's family, the Madrigal Family. But what if I told you that this type of song, where multiple melodies are sung simultaneously, is also called a Madrigal? And that there are many more meanings behind some of the...
VESTING Candidate Board 2023-2024
Yesterday, the VESTING Board 2023-2024 was announced. Today, they will introduce themselves in this article, so you can learn a little bit more about them! Chairman Dear VESTING Members! My name is Lucas Peek and I will be the Chairman of the 34th VESTING...
The Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence: a Scientific Perspective
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives, from healthcare and transportation to education and entertainment. In recent years, we have seen impressive developments in AI technology, such...
Reaching the Unreachable
Have you ever felt like giving up? Wanting to quit something because it seems impossible to reach your goal (for example passing Difference- and Differential Equations)? Of course you have, but don’t give up too fast! Sometimes, it is possible to succeed in what...
How to Prevent High Interest Rates on Your Student Debt
A couple of weeks ago, Dutch students were hit with an extremely unpleasant surprise: not only did the current generation of students miss out on the “basisbeurs”, but they will also have to pay interest on their student loans! Luckily, there is a little loophole...
A crash course in general equilibrium theory
I have always had a weakness for history lessons. Although very different from the standard optimal control problems and differential equations I am solving in my studies, I find that the lessons we can learn from great previous minds are both insightful and...
The Coming Recession – Why There Will Probably Be a Recession Next Year
We are living in economically tumultuous times, with high inflation, rapid interest rate rises, and an energy and climate crisis interfering with the economy. Many economic institutions talk of the imminence of a global recession. This fact gives rise to the question:...
Why do cities often have a poor east side?
London, New York, Paris, Toronto, Manchester: all cities where poverty tends to gather in the east. For each of these cities, one could think of explanations for this on an individual basis. In London for example, the river Thames flowed eastwards. Since in the past...
Van Gogh – not just a painter
Van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the most famous painters of all time, but perhaps it’s time to consider him a mathematician. Starry Night is one of Van Gogh’s most renowned paintings, depicting just that: a starry night. With a bright moon on the right, and Venus in...
How to read a QR code without your phone
You can see them almost everywhere nowadays: QR codes. They can be used for all kinds of things: showing you the menu in a restaurant, getting wifi and even paying for something via a ‘Tikkie’. The first time I saw such a QR code, I wondered immediately how it works,...