I am assistant professor at Media Technology, part of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS).

In 2018 I have co-founded the Creative Intelligence Lab (CIL) together with Tessa Verhoef. This lab brings together researchers from the cognitive and computer sciences who have a shared interest in the foundations of intelligence, both “in carbo” and “in silico”, and who recognise creativity and playfulness as key factors in scientific innovation.

My background is in linguistics, literature, and cognitive science. My PhD thesis The Lazy Mindreader (Leiden and Oxford; defended 2016) studied multiple-order intentionality (A believes that B wants that C thinks...etc.) in relation to language and narrative. In my current research I continue to connect topics and methods from the sciences and humanities, focusing particularly on the links between socio-cognitive development and narrative competence in children. My work is published in English and Dutch, in scholarly as well as popular venues.

In 2013 I have co-initiated the Fraternity Friendship Study (FFS), a currently running longitudinal investigation of friendship and social networks among European students, in collaboration with Prof Anna Rotkirch (Väestöliitto, Helsinki), Dr Tamas David-Barrett (University of Oxford), and Prof Robin Dunbar (University of Oxford). One of the areas of interest is mentalising in relation to social network formation. 

In June 2014 I was selected as a popular science blogger featured on the "Faces of Science"-webpage of the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW): www.kennislink.nl/facesofscience/wetenschappers/max-van-duijn--3

My personal website is www.mjvd.nl.

Publications