In the end, I'll always remain a scientist. I do love science; it might well be the greatest of the arts. Searching for truth, demanding of Nature that She is thinkable and comprehensible, demanding of oneself an absolute submission to reality, and all this in a process which creates incredible beauty. Science is a form of art, but the scientist is the hardest of all artists - he alone allows his creations to be discarded not merely as ugly by his fellow human beings, but also as false by reality itself.

• The contingent law: A tale of Maxwell's Demon
  English [PDF] - October 9, 2004
  In my master's thesis for physics and philosophy, I take a long and hard look at the debates surrounding Maxwell's Demon and the status of the second law of thermodynamics. I try to clarify the use of Maxwell's thought experiment in understanding the second law; to prove that the second law is contingent, given only classical mechanics and time asymmetry; to argue that the law only holds because of facts about the kinds of particles that exist in our universe; to show that and why the attempts to banish the demon using fluctuations, measurements or information or erasure have been unsuccessful; and I conclude that Maxwell's Demon is alive and kicking.
• From apocalypse to entropy: Understanding the decline of religion
  English [PDF] - July 12, 2003
  In this essay I try to develop a conceptual scheme within which the slow decline of religion as a cultural force can be understood. Thermodynamics is used as an example to test this scheme, but unfortunately no strong conclusions can be drawn. Written for the course 'Science and religion'.
• Christiaan Huygens and the Scientific Revolution
  English [PDF] - May 1, 2003
  A small essay (2000 words), for a course I followed on the 'scientific revolution'. I describe the place of Huygens in the scientific revolution: what did he discover, and what was his methodology?
• Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics for Everyone
  English [PDF] - April 9, 2003
  Written for the course 'Philosophy of Science', this is my attempt to write a non-technical introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. You need no mathematical or physical background knowledge to understand it - at least, if I have succeeded in my attempt. Apart from being non-technical, however, no attempt was made to use 'easy' language and the like; the intended audience are well-educated intellectuals, if you'll forgive me the phrase.
• Propensities and Past-events
  English [PDF] - March 2, 2003
  The final essay for my 'Foundations of Quantum Mechanics' course, this is a look into Ian J. Thompson's book 'Philosophy of Nature and Quantum Reality'. The book should be consulted while reading the essay.
• Res Extensa - Descartes' radicale mathematisering van de fysica
  Nederlands [PDF] - January 22, 2003
  Mijn essay voor het vak History of Science handelt over Descartes, en zijn plaats binnen de mathematisering van de natuurwetenschap ten tijde van de Wetenschappelijke Revolutie. Ik beargumenteer dat zijn radicale mathematisering van de wereld de creatie van een succesvolle wiskundige fysica in de weg stond.
• Wetenschappelijke stukjes in de W&L FAQ I
  Nederlands - December 11, 2002
  Een aantal van de wetenschappelijke vragen die ik heb beantwoord in de FAQ van W&L. Aan de orde komen: chaostheorie, thermodynamica, complexe getallen, transfinite getallen, de lichtsnelheid en het ontstaan van geslachtelijke voortplanting.
• Onzekerheidsvergelijkingen in Leerboeken
  Nederlands [PDF] - November 10, 2002
  De laatste versie van een kleine opdracht die ik heb geschreven voor het vak Grondslagen van de Quantummechanica. Er wordt gekeken naar de manier waarop de onzekerheidsrelaties worden behandeld in drie verschillen leerboeken over quantummechanica. Niet erg interessant voor wie de cursus niet heeft gevolgd.