Bart Koopmans
The Dutch Childcare Benefits Scandal – How Big Data and AI Can Have Disastrous Consequences
Last week, the elections for the Dutch parliament took place. This election came earlier than usual since the cabinet Rutte IV had fallen due to failed negotiations about policy toward asylum seekers. The same political parties formed the previous coalition, Rutte III. This cabinet had also fallen, although this was only two months before the […]
The Sausage Catastrophe
Introduction Contrary to what you might expect, this article is not actually about sausages. It is not even about food at all. Instead, the sausage catastrophe is a mathematical phenomenon that occurs when studying the theory of finite sphere packing. Finite Sphere Packing Imagine that you have a finite number of apples that you want […]
Working as a Quantitative Risk Analyst at Aegon
In the Netherlands, insurers pay out approximately 200 million euros to individuals and companies a day. Additionally, the total assets reserved for pensions amount to more than 1400 billion euros a year. Hence, it is safe to say that the world and work of insurers and pension funds are very complex, nevertheless essential. But what […]
The lazy person’s guide to a healthy brain
Now that the summer holiday is around the corner it is time to relax and unwind. After all the exams and deadlines of the past weeks, some downtime to enjoy the weather, lay down in the park, or go out with friends is well deserved. However, once the new year has started after weeks of […]
The conundrum of perpetual motion
It is no surprise that the 19th century was a time of scientific breakthroughs and wondrous inventions. However, for the people of Philadelphia, this meant that for only one dollar they could admire the most amazing machine in the world: a machine that stayed in motion forever without any external source of energy. The inventor […]
The pitfalls of being intelligent
In economics, one of the first assumptions we are taught is that we are dealing with rational actors. The idea that people make rational and well-considered decisions. But in life, this almost never seems to be the case. When we look around us in the world, we see experts ignoring certain facts, authorities making the […]
Who will conquer the world?
Risk has been one of the most beloved board games since its release more than sixty years ago. With this classic board game, a fun evening with your friends or family can soon turn into an hours-long war where alliances are forged, troops are lost and battles are won. This family game has brought […]
A different look at online education
By now, most students will have a lot of experience with attending online lectures and tutorials. It truly has become the new normal. It might therefore also look as if online classes have nothing new or exciting to offer. However, I want to challenge you to take a different look at online education and discover […]
Diversity a threat to feminism?
Is multiculturalism bad for women? That is the title of liberal philosopher and feminist Suzan Moller Okin’s plea about the incompatibility of feminism and multiculturalism. Over the past few decades multiculturalism has always sparked a lot of debates and unleashed a lot of passions in society. And during the past years, feminists have also taken […]
Dark humor to lighten the mood
‘If the coronavirus doesn’t kill me, being stuck in the house with my wife for three weeks will.’ Tasteless or funny? Since the lockdown, the number of jokes concerning the current pandemic has grown day by day. And while some may take offense from this dark type of humor, others just use them as a […]
Is het coronavirus daadwerkelijk goed voor het milieu?
Al weken domineert COVID-19 het nieuws in Nederland. Maar naast alle verhalen over overvolle intensive cares, ondernemers die worstelen met de huidige maatregelen en gesloten grenzen lijkt er één lichtpuntje te zijn: de coronacrisis is goed voor het milieu. De natuur heeft even een momentje om op adem te komen. De foto’s van vissen in […]
In other news
Lately, the front page of the Dutch newspapers has been dominated with burdensome news about the coronavirus, developments around Brexit or statements from Donald Trump. Yesterday, even a new story about the prosecution of Ridouan Taghi was featured on the NOS website. Although this is of course very relevant and important news, 2020 has had […]
21st-century discrimination
The past decade has been the decade of artificial intelligence. With the abundance of data that is generated every day, more and more decisions are made using data analytics and algorithms. The rise of AI in the 21st century has been swift and it has made an impact on almost every field. However, just as […]
VESTING Candidate Board 2020-2021
Yesterday the VESTING Board ’20-’21 was announced. If you are interested in learning a bit more about them, read their personal introductions in this article. Chairman Hey VESTING Members! My name is Mick van Ottele and I will be the chairman of the VESTING Board of 2020-2021. I’m 21 years old and I’m a fourth-year […]
The Muffin Problem
[latexpage] Imagine, you and two friends visit a bakery and buy six delicious cupcakes. However, while leaving the bakery, your friend who’s holding the box with delicacies trips and one of the cupcakes falls to the ground. All three puzzled, you look at each other, how are you going to divide five cupcakes over three […]
Planet 9
[latexpage] On August 24, 2006, a large group of Pluto-fans was shocked when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) demoted Pluto from a full planet to a dwarf planet. Our nine-planet solar system suddenly became an eight-planet solar system and planetary mnemonics changed from “My Very Enthusiastic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas” to “My Very […]
The road to happiness
One lesson we learn as little kids is that money cannot buy happiness. And with these wise words in mind we set out into the world. However, as we grow older, we find that this one important life lesson might not be as legitimate as we were taught. And as time passes we are forced […]
Mind-boggling mathematical concepts
According to legend, the famous Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, was the fastest runner in all of Greece. One day an lazy old tortoise challenged Achilles to a race, claiming that he could win as long as Achilles gave him a small head start. Achilles laughed and told the tortoise he would surely lose, […]
A mathematical perspective
Pythagoras of Samos (572-500 BC) was one of the first famous mathematicians. He is probably best known for the Pythagorean theorem, even though he left no mathematical writings himself. Much of what we now know of Pythagoras comes from the writings left by his followers. These followers, the Pythagorean, were not just common scholars, for […]
Financial crime and QE bubbles: a closer look at the banking sector
“ING to Pay $900 Million to End Dutch Money Laundering Probe”. This headline of American financial, data and media company Bloomberg was just one of many headlines to have appeared in the news concerning the corrupt practices of the Dutch bank ING. In the beginning of September, ING Groep NV was charged €775 million by […]
Hèhè, eindelijk!
Wie vorige week de beurskoers in de gaten heeft gehouden moet iets zijn opgevallen. Afgelopen dagen hebben namelijk de Amerikaanse, Europese en Japanse centrale banken hun nieuw monetair beleid gepresenteerd, wat flink wat schommelingen in de koersen als gevolg had. Eerst was de Amerikaanse Federal Reserve aan de beurt, gevolgd door de Europese Centrale Bank […]
Lecture halls packed with hormones
According to the Dutch National Students’ union (LsVb), three out of four students feels emotionally exhausted. Last years research from the LsVb showed a lot of students think the workload is just to much. But how is it that some students feel such an enormous amount of stress, while others choose to snooze their alarm […]