Funny traffic lights and beautiful castles.
Latest Posts
La Cathedrale de Strasbourg
I spent a morning strolling around the old town of Strasbourg, France, with as main goal a visit to its impressive cathedral. Unfortunately it was a completely overcast day, so the sky was white instead of blue. But in some way it actually made the whole experience even more mystical!
A Chalk Walk
Among scientists, a “chalk talk” means a lecture without a laptop and beamer to display fancy graphics, but simply using a blackboard and a piece of chalk to draw diagrams and formulas while you speak. It’s sort of going back to the basics to force you to explain your topic clearly. Last week I also went back to the basics, leaving my laptop behind to go on a 5-day walking trip through Zuid-Limburg, the southernmost area of The Netherlands. This region is well known for its extensive layers of limestone, and the 90km walking path I followed is appropriately called Krijtlandpad, or chalkland path. It was indeed a beautiful “chalk walk”, also highlighting many of the other things the region is famous for, including the country’s highest point.
Lunar Eclipse over Amsterdam
Last night there was a (complete) lunar eclipse which was visible from Amsterdam. Many thanks to Jo & Piet for sharing their 9th-floor apartment balcony with me, from where the views were just wonderful! Here are some impressions. Click any of the pics for a full-size view…
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Beauty is cruelty…
Complex Experimental Autocatalytic Sets
Autocatalytic sets are self-sustaining chemical reaction networks which are believed to have played an important role in the origin of life, and to be an underlying principle of living systems in general. They have been studied in great detail both mathematically and with computer simulations, and actual experimental examples have been constructed in the lab. However, so far these experimental examples were of a limited complexity (so-called “elementary” autocatalytic sets). Recently, though, a group of researchers have constructed and studied the first experimental example of a more complex (“non-elementary”) autocatalytic set.
The Evolutionary Roots of Irrationality
Standard economic theory assumes that humans behave fully rationally and are able to objectively calculate the value (or cost) of the different choices they are presented with. In fact, we pride ourselves on our rationality. Different from the animals, we humans have the unique capacity for logical thought and rational decision making. Or do we?
Read the full piece on This View of Life…
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A whimsical garage owner…
Citizen Science: Schumann Resonances
Schumann resonances (SR) are global electromagnetic resonances generated by lightning in the cavity between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere. Their existence was predicted mathematically in 1952. However, it took another decade before they could be reliably measured and verified. Given that Schumann resonances occur in the same electromagnetic frequency spectrum as human brain waves, it has been suggested that extreme fluctuations in these resonances could affect human behavior and health.
Read the full story at Plus magazine.
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A poem about mathematics…
Snooker Statistics Follow Precise Mathematical Laws
A particular mathematical relationship known as a power law has been observed in many day-to-day situations, from word use frequencies in natural languages to the connectivity distribution in Facebook friendship networks. As it turns out, though, such a power law can also be found in snooker statistics. And if the amazing Ronnie O’Sullivan produces yet a few more centuries, the mathematical correspondence will be even better! Read more
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Frolicking frogs and slithering snakes…
Impressions of Amsterdam
I’ll admit it straight away: it’s not my city, and it never will be. But on one of those rare blue-sky days it’s actually not so bad (if you can manage to dodge the hordes of tourists, that is). Here are some impressions from around the old town of Amsterdam, in the area where I currently live and work.
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Snails do it too!
Update: Earthquake Statistics
A year ago I published an article in Plus magazine debunking claims buzzing around the internet about a supposed recent increase in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and so on. In that article I showed in detail how anyone can analyze publicly available data to put such claims to the test. In the current post, I present a brief update on earthquake statistics, showing that there still is no need to worry.
Tracing the Roots of my Family Name
It’s quite fun when your family name originates from a specific place that still exists and can be visited. As had already been known for a long time, my family name comes from a street, the Hordijk, in a neighborhood that is now in the southern part of the city of Rotterdam. So, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided to go and pay a visit to this place where my ancestors once lived…
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Room for rent…
Evolution as a Problem Solver in Computer Science
The theory of evolution has helped biologists and ecologists to understand more about the natural world in general, and psychologists and social scientists to understand more about ourselves in particular. However, it has also taught a thing or two to computer scientists.
Read the full story on This View of Life…
What’s Your Problem?
Some problems are fundamentally hard, not only for humans, but even for computers. We may know how to solve these hard problems in theory, but in practice it might take billions of years to actually do so, even for the fastest supercomputer.
Read the full story on Plus magazine…
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Being different is not allowed!
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The cat’s whiskers.
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Welcome to Israel. Beware of falling rockets!
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A bird’s-tail view…
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A theoretical biologist making fun of theoretical biologists…
Geneva Attractions: From High Energy Physics to High Altitude Views
Geneva is a city of many faces. Located in the far-western corner of Switzerland, at the tip of its namesake lake, it is steeped in history, surrounded by mountains, and host to the world’s largest particle physics experiments at CERN (where, incidentally, the World Wide Web was also invented).
Read the full story on Swiss Vistas…