mathematics

Pepijn van Erp

Pepijn van Erp is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pepijn van Erp rather than just read about it. In short: Pepijn van Erp (born 1972) is a Dutch mathematician and skeptical activist. Van Erp studied mathematics at the Radboud University Nijmegen, graduating in 1999.

Key takeaways

Pepijn van Erp belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pepijn van Erp to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pepijn van Erp from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pepijn van Erp (born 1972) is a Dutch mathematician and skeptical activist. Van Erp studied mathematics at the Radboud University Nijmegen, graduating in 1999. After graduating, Van Erp worked as a statistics consultant at the PTT. Between 2002 and 2005, he lived in Tanzania. Until 2012, Van Erp was secretary at the Stichting Nijmeegs Universitair Fonds (SNUF). In 2011, Van Erp became involved with Stichting Skepsis, where he has served as board member since March 2012. Over a number of years, he has occupied himself with all sorts of dubious claims to determine whether they are scientific or pseudoscientific in nature. In February 2013, Van Erp was one of several commentators who accused the editorial staff of talkshow De Wereld Draait Door to uncritically present the story of the heavily handicapped Niek Zervaas, who was alleged to have been able to communicate using facilitated communication, a practice characterised as pseudoscience. The editorial staff later admitted that they had been 'blinded' by the wondrous story of Niek's parents, and should have been more skeptical. After van Erp criticised the ideas of American-Italian nuclear physicist Ruggero Santilli, the latter sued him, his webhost, and the chairman of Skepsis Foundation in 2016. The suit against the foundation was dismissed in August 2018 and shortly thereafter the suit against van Erp was settled. In October 2016, the electronics company Philips planned to hold a workshop called "Energy Medicine meets technology" with speakers from companies developing an electroacupuncture device and an app for mapping meridians; after van Erp posted a blog describing his efforts to get information from the companies and criticizing these devices as pseudoscience and quackery, Philips cancelled the workshop. He is also a chess player.

References

External links

Personal website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pepijn van Erp

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pepijn van Erp claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pepijn van Erp before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pepijn van Erp ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pepijn van Erp

In research: Pepijn van Erp appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pepijn van Erp in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pepijn van Erp is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1972 births, Dutch male bloggers, Dutch mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pepijn van Erp outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pepijn van Erp in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pepijn van Erp means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pepijn van Erp out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pepijn van Erp in simple terms?

Pepijn van Erp (born 1972) is a Dutch mathematician and skeptical activist. Van Erp studied mathematics at the Radboud University Nijmegen, graduating in 1999.

Why does Pepijn van Erp matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pepijn van Erp?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pepijn van Erp.