Students

Most students would argue that they prefer an easy course over a challenging one. But does the data actually support this intuition? This article analyzes around one thousand course evaluations from the UMCG/FEB to investigate the relationship between course enjoyment and workload. The data is sourced from De Zwoegfactor, a growing platform and essential study tool that provides personalized academic advice based on student experiences.

Why do some people seem to succeed so effortlessly, while others, equally as skilled, fall short? A start up with a carefully strategic approach fails, while a similar one becomes a highly successful company. A student studying for hours and getting a passing grade, while another barely prepares and excels. We tend to explain these outcomes through skill, talent and hard work, but what part of this unexpected success actually comes down to luck?

Studying mathematics is an arduous undertaking, testing one's patience while learning new, complex concepts and one’s tolerance for frustration. This is common to all of us, and fortunately so, as it reminds us that we are not alone in this journey. We are however led to believe that there exist some exceptions in our world, some people who possess a certain knack for mathematics. For them, mathematical expressions come as naturally as brushstrokes to an artist. When we talk about these numerical artists, we think of Euler, Gauss, Newton, to name a few giants. While we humble mortals are quite certain of never attaining such intellectual heights as they did, we are capable of appreciating their talents from a content-based perspective thanks to our quantitative background. For the layperson, however, their encounter with the notion of the “mathematical genius” is often shaped by popular culture. But does this mathematician on the big screen correspond to the mathematician in the real world?

The leg starts. A player approaches the dartboard, cool as ice. With a fluid motion, he bends his elbow, leans in, and releases a dart that finds its mark in the triple 20 as if it were the most natural feat in the world. Within a second, he follows with another throw, and another.  Again, a perfect throw. Then another, and another, and another. By the time he reaches his seventh dart, the arena has fallen into silence. Everyone holds their breath and waits in anticipation. Two darts are left and 81 remains to be thrown. Triple 19. Just one dart left. Double 12. The place explodes. Nine darts, zero mistakes, and most importantly, game over. Surely a player this good could be doing this all the time? That, however, is completely false.