Physics and journalism
Studying physics was genuinely interesting, and I enjoyed all the math courses as well. But the endless cycle of exams quickly became tedious. Each course followed the same predictable pattern. You always had to prepare for an exam with problems to solve. It could be an electrical circuit, an electron adrift in a field, particles under pressure, it could even be people switching flashlights on and off in trains hurtling near the speed of light, or simply a matrix whose eigenvalues were unknown or an integral or differential equation. The process was always the same: apply the right formulas, avoid getting bogged down in calculations, and arrive at a neatly computed value. Rinse and repeat.
After two years, I decided to take a break and fulfill my civil service. But when I’d stop my enrollment at the university, I would have to immediately join the army. At this time, every young Dutch male was still required to serve in the army, unless he claimed to be an conscienctious objector defined in the law as somebody with insurmountable objections to the use of violence. I did not really have those, I just would not want to be placed under the command of somebody’s whose orders I would have to follow no matter what. So I decided to play pacifist. The process involved writing a letter explaining one’s stance and then defending it before a committee. I crafted a grandiose declaration that culminated in the observation that freedom does not live in the barrel of a warm gun. A conveniently borrowed lyric from one of my favorite artist.
The committee approved, and I was free to seek a state-sponsored job.
I landed one at the university newspaper Cursor and quickly discovered that I loved journalism. You learn to write a lot, make sure your stories are at least somewhat entertaining, keep them reasonably accurate (I learned the hard way that you get roasted otherwise). Above all, I learned one thing: always always always meet your deadlines. So my stint as journalist was both fun and immensely useful. In fact, I’d recommend it to anyone considering a career in science — the job of a scientist is surprisingly similar. I continued freelancing as a journalist while resuming my studies at Utrecht University.