David Bakker
Graduate student in the History & Philosophy of Mathematics at Utrecht University.
My favourite mathematicians: Isaac Newton, Joseph Fourier
Three other things I love: Brahms, cats and Apple Inc.
Writings
Some papers are drafts and password protected. Reach out if you want to read them.
Four papers I've written:
- Newton's Mathematical Universe. On the conflicts in Newton between the classical Greek style of doing geometry and algebra.
- The Drawbridge Problem. On a 17th century calculus problem considered by l'Hôpital, Johann Bernoulli, and Leibniz including their reflections on how to solve mathematical problems.
- The Objectivity of Mathematics. On the necessity of viewing mathematics as a human method that extends our ability to make quantitative identifications instead of a discipline trying to get away from human element as much as possible.
- Modelling Mollusks Mathematically. On the use of a mathematical model based on neural activity to model Mollusk pigmentation patterns, instead of a traditional diffusion model for so-called Turing patterns. Based on a 2009 Paper by Boettiger et al.
Talks
Talks I've given:
- Joseph Fourier and the Accusations of Insufficient Rigor: Then and Now. 35th Novembertagung on the History & Philosophy of Mathematics, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France (November 2025). [slides]
- Newton Versus Descartes on the Exactness of Mathematics. Masterclass in the Philosophy of Mathematical Practices, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium (June 2025). [slides | handout]
Coursework
This year (25/26) is the final year of my three-year double master's program. The whole year I am writing my master's thesis. The provisionary title is Geometrical shape as a cause: Orthogonal Expansions and Mellin Transform Methods.
Coursework in 24/25:
- Partial Differential Equations (theoretical)
- Partial Differential Equations (numerical)
- Calculus of Variations
- History of Mathematics (the calculus of Newton & Leibniz)
- History of Mathematics (analysis beyond Newton & Leibniz)
- Philosophy of Science (general introduction)
Lie Groups
Coursework in 23/24:
- Dynamical Systems
- Mathematical Biology
- Inverse Problems in Imaging
- Coding Theory
- History of Mathematics (linear algebra)
- History and Philosophy of Objectivity
- History of Science (general introduction)
- Plato & Aristotle
I completed my Bachelor's in (Applied) Mathematics at TU Delft (2020–2023).
Links
Other links:
- Some notes (mostly) on philosophy of math.
- I collect quotes.
- Visualizers of geometric multiplication and of the exponential function.