Nerd Nite Boston

Happy 2013, everyone! We’re back in action with two great talks lined up for your learning pleasure. First, Allison delivers a first-hand account of feminist geeks in the nerd world. Then Josh explains why he subjects children to fart spray. Good times! Come over!

Talk 1: “Gender & Nerd Culture: A Year in Review” by Allison Wilhelm

Allison is a recent graduate of Northeastern University, where she studied political science, law, sociology, and women’s studies. She was also involved in her school’s anime club and feminist student organization, making significant contributions to both clubs. Allison has been immersed in nerd culture since 2007 when she attended Anime Boston for the first time; she has been presenting panels on the intersection of feminism and all things nerdy since April of last year and hopes to present many more in the future. Allison’s favorite superheroes are Captain America and Wonder Woman; her favorite video game is Bioshock; her favorite anime changes frequently but she is a big fan of Blue Drop and Hell Girl. She also adores musical theater, Disney movies, shiny objects, ballet, and old-fashioned swing music.

Follow her on Tumblr and Blogger.

Talk 2: “Aliens Behaving Badly: Children’s Acquisition of Novel Purity-Based Morals” by Josh Rottman

Moral development has long been heralded as a rational process through which children are increasingly able to reason logically about what is right and wrong in accordance with their cognitive maturity. Josh thinks this is mostly flat-out wrong.  Instead, he argues that emotion (in addition to norm learning) is responsible for the childhood acquisition of moral beliefs. In order to gather evidence for this claim, Josh subjected dozens of seven-year-olds to the horrendous smell of Liquid ASS (TM) and asked them to make moral judgments about the unfamiliar behaviors of extraterrestrials.

After failing to attain his childhood career goals of becoming a magician/marine biologist/rabbi, Josh has become a professional question-asker to children. He hails from a small town in Colorado known for a chicken (Mike) that lived for 18 months without a head, and he is now a 20th grader in Psychology at Boston University.

Join us for a Nerd Nite party like no other! Your curators of cool, masters of merriment, arbiters of awesome, purveyors of puns, and teaching fellows of funk are throwing what promises to be the most festive of festive evenings. We’re trading in the Venn diagrams and PowerPoint presentations for nerdy holiday programming full of cheer.

Nerd Nite Yankee Swap! Make many friends and perhaps a few enemies during our regionally-appropriate gift-giving game. This is going to be great! To participate, RSVP here. (No cover charge for swappers. Limited to a maximum of 20 players. The nerdier the gift the better! For more details, click here.)

Funkin’ A, folks! We couldn’t be happier to host this band of singing nerds. An irreverent 7-part vocal band covering an eclectic mix of pop tunes and deep cuts from the 50s to the present, Funkin’ A! will delight. They will entertain.

Cool Kids Club, kheds! Boston Free Radio‘s own Cool Kids Club keep the partay going and your bootays moving with a mixture of soul jams, Christmas cuts, and sweet surprises.

Wear your festive best! Monday, December 17, 2012 | Middlesex Lounge | 9PM | $5

It’s time for Nerd Nite November! Meet us at the Middlesex for two enlightening talks on technology of different types and in different times. Deb Nicholson speculates on technology’s role in our dystopian future. Sam Shupe takes us on a ride down memory lane, sharing his knowledge of New England’s rich cycling history.

Talk 1 -“Technology and Dystopia: Do you dream of angry android sheep? by Deb Nicholson

Humor will be employed to explore the possible enslavement or eradication of humanity in our future. Deb will discuss several popular fictional dystopias set in humanity’s future and what technologies are in play that could help or hinder each scenario. John Gaventa’s framework for social power will be used to discuss the political and economic factors that will shape the human race’s destiny. Lastly, she’ll identify some of the underlying freedoms and educational efforts that she believes can help us avoid (or at least ameliorate) a dystopic future. During Q&A, the audience is invited to share or comment on technologies that keep them up at night worrying about the fate of the world.

Deb Nicholson works at the intersection of technology and social justice. She has been a free speech advocate, economic justice organizer, and civil liberties defender. After working in Massachusetts politics for fifteen years, she became involved in the free software movement. She is the Community Outreach Director at the Open Invention Network and the Community Manager at Media Goblin, a GNU project dedicated to building decentralized media hosting. She also serves on the board at Open Hatch, a non-profit dedicated to matching prospective free software contributors with communities, tools, and education. You can find her on identi.ca at @eximious or on freenode as freedeb. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Talk 2 – “Bicycle History and Culture in Maine and New England 1880-1900” by Sam Shupe

Hello!

I am excited to announce our first collaboration with the Museum of Science! They’re starting a brand new program for adults called the Science Author Salon. This series of events occurs at a variety of venues around town and features bright minds from around the world who’ve recently put their ideas on paper. The evening kicks off with a social hour, allowing nerds to mix and mingle with one another. Immediately following are a few words from the guest of honor. Tuesday the 13th’s author, George Church, will read from and/or talk about his latest book, “Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves.” There will be time for Q+A with George after his talk.

Please join us on Tuesday, November 13, at Ole in Inman Square! Our gracious venue encourages you to snack on genetically perfected Mexican bites and sip a mutating margarita. The Museum of Science and Nerd Nite encourage you to stick around for revolutionary conversation and snag a signed copy of “Regenesis.”

Details
Who: Museum of Science & Nerd Nite Boston

What: Science Author Salon featuring George Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of PersonalGenomes.org

Inside the laboratories of biotechnology, the science of synthetic biology is literally coming to life. When humans can control the genetic makeup of organisms, nature will no longer be the exclusive arbiter of life, death, and evolution. Join the conversation about how synthetic biology may hold the keys to improved health, increased longevity, halting global warming, and boosting genetic diversity.

Where: Ole Mexican Grill, 11 Springfield Street, Inman Square, Cambridge

When: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 @ 6PM $5

RSVP here.

Be there and be square!

It’s time for Nerd Nite October! Join us at the Middlesex for two delightfully informative talks. Anna Rothman brings us New England’s own tales of crypts. Alex Bloemendal is probably going to talk about probability. (The odds are in our favor.)

Talk 1: “Heads or Tails? Adventures in Coin Tossing” by Alex Bloemendal

The humble coin toss is the archetypal random phenomenon. Repeated tossing leads to all kinds of questions: How long can a run of heads go on? Is my coin fair or biased? Can you get a fair toss out of a biased coin? a specifically biased toss out of a fair coin? Find out answers to these questions and more! Expect to encounter randomness, certainty, Andrey Kolmogorov, John von Neumann, binary representation, the law of large numbers and — time permitting — the devil’s staircase.

More Info on Alex: Alex hails from Toronto where he recently did a PhD in mathematics, a slightly masochistic activity that entails banging your head against a blackboard several hours a day for several years. He is currently doing research on random matrices and teaching at Harvard.

Talk 2: “Here Lyes ye Body: a Field Guide to 18th- and 19th-Century Gravestones” by Anna Rothman

For Early Americans, a trip to the graveside of friends or family was a regular occurrence, but the modern American holds his breath as he passes by. How did we go from picnicking in graveyards to avoiding them at all costs? Decipher the historic clues hidden in every gravestone, with symbols, epitaphs, stone placement, and more. Pick up a few tricks and tips for your own graving expeditions!

Join us for another exciting installment of Nerd Nite at Oberon. It’s two events in one — you can join us for Nerdnite at 8, or come early for our first-ever…

NERD NITE SPEED DATING — 6:30pm. Our first order of business for the evening finds hosts Jeremy and Mary playing the part of cupid for 20 single ladies and 20 single gents. It’s like the Love Connection with nerds. Speed dating will start at 6:30pm. Get your tickets today by clicking here. Price includes admission to speed dating and main Nerdnite event.

THE MAIN EVENT – 8PM
As usual, our main event features two talks that are certain to delight and entertain. Claude Money with special guest Raleigh Fingers of Brobots! play nerd appropriate tunes for your listening pleasure. Advance tickets on sale now — click here to buy.

Talk 1 – “Dance Your PhD”
by John Bohannon

Science correspondent John Bohannon demonstrates how scientists around the world are competing to explain their PhD research projects with interpretive dance.

Website: http://gonzolabs.org/dance/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DanceYourPhD

Talk 2 – “Bending Steel: Professional Filmmaking in the New DIY Age”
by Ryan Scafuro

Filmmaker Ryan Scafuro discusses his experience as the producer and director of photography of the feature length documentary “Bending Steel,” and how the advent of affordable high definition DSLR cameras and the popularity of crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding has opened up a new world of opportunities for independent filmmakers hoping to produce and distribute films on a micro-budget.

Website: www.bendingsteelmovie.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bendingsteelmovie
Twitter: @BendingSteelMov (https://twitter.com/BendingSteelMov)

Be there and be square!
Oberon Theater
2 Arrow Street (in Harvard Square)
Cambridge, MA

Friends of Nerdnite Boston,
Our next event — and the last of the summer — will take place Monday August 27, 8pm at the Middlesex Lounge. Whether you’re an old hand at Nerdnite or just arriving in town for the new semester, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the nerd-tastic lineup that’s on tap this month. As always, DJ Claude Money will be on hand spinning the nerd-appropriate tunes.

Here is this month’s lineup:

Talk 1: “Edvard Munch: His Life and Work In Context”
by David Curcio
While widely recognized for such iconic masterpieces as The Sick Child, Madonna, and especially The Scream, Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944) has been largely misinterpreted as a tormented genius doing battle with inner demons and isolating himself from the art world and the public. While this is in part true, Munch was also a shrewd businessman, responding to cultural turn-of-the-century trends including psychoanalysis, misogyny and the anxiety produced by the Industrial Age. Also little known is the fact that the majority of his most famous work was done before he was forty, and that until he died at 80 years old, he was more prolific than any artist in history, producing a body of work staggering in its breadth, style, and contribution to modern painting.

David Curcio has been more or less preoccupied with Edvard Munch since 3rd grade when he saw a reproduction of the black and while lithographic version of The Scream. It worked its way into his nightmares which lasted for years. Today he is an artist living and working in Boston, his obsession with the great Norwegian never having left him.

Talk 2: “Sh*t [nerds] say: Just what the hell is a snowclone anyway?”
by Tim Sullivan
In this talk, Tim will discuss what a snowclone is, why he thinks they’re interesting, and how they’re not-so-slowly infiltrating every facet of your life.

Tim Sullivan has a degree in public policy. He has never studied linguistics, but thinks this sort of thing is pretty cool. He enjoys bow ties and ginger beer.

Be there and be square!
Monday August 27, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA
$5

Friends of Nerdnite,
The next edition of Nerdnite Boston takes place Monday July 30 at Middlesex lounge, and we’re pretty fired up about this month’s lineup. Come spend a summer evening enjoying a brew with fellow nerds and learning a thing or two about your immune system… plus, an answer to the question, “Silk: is there anything it can’t do?” As always, DJ Claude Money will provide the nerd-appropriate tunes. It’s a great lineup — hope to see you all there!

Talk 1:
“Too Close For Missiles, Switching to Guns: Stories From the Front Lines of an Immune Response”
by Sarah Bettigole

Sarah is a Ph.D. student in the Immunology program at Harvard studying how stress influences inflammatory processes. Her talk will illustrate the social network dynamics of immune responses in the context of various pathological events such as infection and cancer. Having tutored and taught extensively in college and graduate school, she likes doing 3D design and animation of biological processes in an attempt to make science more engaging to a general audience. And sometimes to her advisor.

Talk 2:
“Silk: The Ancient Material of the Future”
by Max Chalkin

Silk is a natural fiber that has been cultivated and fabricated into textiles for over 5,000 years. The Tufts Silklab is hard at work reinventing it. Max is a member of the Tufts research group led by David Kaplan and Fiorenzo Omenetto. His talk will cover many aspects of silk’s awesomeness. For instance, silk has a combination of properties not found in any comparable material used today — it is programmably degradable, biocompatible and edible, and completely sustainable. Silk has wide-ranging implications for high-technology, medicine, material science, and global health. To date, the Silklab at Tufts University has created implantable, fully-biocompatible sensors and optical components, refrigeration-free drug delivery systems, tissue scaffolds and orthopedic devices, and biodegradable ‘smart’ consumer goods. With silk and silk composites, we can imagine a world free of plastic bottles and Styrofoam cups, in which drugs are transported across the desert without the need for refrigeration, food tells us if it’s stale or contaminated, and our bodies alert us before we get sick. High-tech silk implants and hardware can deliver drugs, promote bone and tissue repair, and harmlessly dissolve in the body or remain stable for years. With silk, the possibilities are limitless.

Be there and be square!
Monday July 30, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge MA
$5

Join us for the June edition of Nerdnite this Monday, June 25, at the Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge. We’ve got three fascinating talks on the docket — that’s right, an extra speaker! — so we’ll get things started early this time: 7pm. DJ Claude Money will provide the nerd-appropriate tunes.

Special thanks to the Cambridge Historical Society for partnering with us on this event! They’ve coordinated with us to provide two of the speakers, who will talk about their efforts to preserve and document our local history. Our third speaker — a special out of town guest — draws his nerdery from an entirely different realm… his talk will explore the mysterious world of metallurgy. Read on for more details!

Talk 1:
Are We Rolling?: Trial and Error in the Music in Cambridge Oral History Project
by Katrina Morse, Cambridge Historical Society
Katrina is a librarian at the Boston Public Library. Her talk will focus on an oral history project documenting the music scene in Cambridge from folk to punk. In addition to her nerdy interests in archives, oral history, and reading, she likes to do cool things like ride her bike, swim in lakes, and travel to exotic locales. She is currently editing three books to be published by Harvard University Press and is planning her next oral history project.

Talk 2:
Saving the Last Lustron Home in Boston
by Sonja Vitow
Sonja is an intern at the Boston Preservation Alliance and is also currently a third-year MFA student at Emerson College studying fiction. She’ll be talking about the Alliance’s work to preserve recent history, and to rescue an important modern house in Boston.

Talk 3
Heat It & Beat It: From Wootz to Modern Super Metals
by Rick Karnesky
Rick is the co-boss of Nerd Nite East Bay (now in vaporware!) and the host of Spectrum, the science and technology show on KALX Berkeley. He’s a metallurgist for Sandia National Labs in California and spends a majority of his time breathing in coke dust and ripping apart materials atom-by-atom.

Be there and be square
Monday June 25, 7pm
(note earlier time!)
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
$5

Please join us for the next Nerdnite on Monday May 28, our annual Memorial Day celebration of Boston nerdery. There’s no better way to polish off your Memorial Day weekend than with a beer, a couple of nerdy talks, and some nerd-appropriate tunes from DJ Claude Money. Plus, we’ll be giving away free copies of the brand-new issue of Nerdnite: The Magazine for everyone who comes out. So come on down to the Middlesex on Monday the 28th — we’ll get started at 8pm.

Here’s this month’s lineup:
Talk 1:
“The Walking Death, Poison Apples, and Tangled Proteins”
by Joe Mazzulli

These three seemingly-unrelated things have one thing in common — they all revolutionized our understanding of how the brain works, and in particular how our brain allows us to perform and execute movements. This talk will describe how the study of neurological disorders led to breakthroughs in the neuroscience of movement. Joe is a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Med School who has been studying the biochemical basis of neurodegenerative diseases for the past 11 years.

Talk 2:
“Inhabiting the Global Anonymous (observations on the evolution of cities with a focus on Tokyo)” 
by Ishita Sharma

Ishita was a Travelling Fellow in Tokyo in 2010 (facilitated by the Dallas Center for Architecture). She has spent the better part of her life questioning and reveling in the cacophonous, serendipitous flood of life, intrigued by reflections of the universal in the particular and of the particular in the universal. She seeks that nebulous place in her and in the world where art, science, spirituality and design intersect.

Be there and be square
Monday May 28, 2012 — 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
$5
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