For many decades social sciences have been captivated by the statistical method. In itself there is nothing wrong with this method, but a serious side effect of a large fixation on surveys, likert-scales and normal distributions is that the argument is still seen mainly as opinion and therefore hardly …

In this colomn it is argued that investing in education, healthcare and construction is investing in local economy and society. At least, if education perceives "get ready for a smart world" (the credo of Saxion University) as more than an uncritical adaptation to the latest products of the high-tech …

William James stated: "Individuality outruns all classification, yet we insist on classifying every one we meet under some general label". It is argued that people classify to make sense of their world. By labelling (repeating) patterns, we learn to navigate through our world and through our lives. Often, …

A colomn about nurture (development) and innate brain structures. Our brain is important. A car does not drive without a motor, but the purpose of the journey is not anchored in the engine. As long as we are judged on what we do or don 't do in the world, running away on time in a conflict, for example, …

CC-BY-NC-ND Smart Industry - de vierde industriële revolutie - gaat volgens veel publicaties de inhoud van werk razendsnel en drastisch veranderen. De veel geponeerde stelling is dat de samensmelting van allerlei technologische ontwikkelingen op het gebied van o.a. automatisering, optica en big data …

A colomn about Neurotypic Spectrum Disorder (NSD). Incidence 5 out of 10 persons, only 3 out of 100 are completely excluded (they have ASD, autistic spectrum disorder). NSD means a reduced capacity to obtain one or more preoccupations, let alone losing themselves in fascinations; Superficial knowledge …

Normal is a concept that stems from two very interesting mathematical concepts: the normal distribution and the central limit theorem. People possess infinite numbers of properties. By far the most are unknown, they don’t matter to our reality. However, through our knowledge systems - perception and …

A colomn about brain versus technology.

During life, each person forms the second nature, which is much more important because it is changeable. Starting from the basic emotions that apply as fuel or motivator, we form our second nature, our culturally integrated personality.

A school and especially a university must operate efficiently, while also offering innovation space. In meeting these requirements, it can neither leave 100% on lean, nor inspiration (think of the art schools half a century ago). Companies need continuity. Serendipity may facilitate this. However, sometimes …