Nerd Nite London

March 21st- Early nerd tickets on sale now

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: the Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL

Details: Wednesday March 21st

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets available here.

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

Nerd Nite London aims to teach you details about subjects which you didn’t even know you were curious about, while you drink beer and learn things you didn’t know you didn’t know. This month we have the strange history of an odd town in Georgia, USA, the power of flags and the low-down on some top conspiracy theories. Be there and be square

How The Sound of Music saved Helen, GA

When you think of a small town in the American Deep South, the image in your mind is more likely to be people sipping iced tea on their front porch than lederhosen-clad beer drinkers in Bavarian-style bars. That’s because you’ve never been to Helen, Georgia. I’ll explain the strange story of why a small town in the foothills of the Appalachians resembles one in the Alps.

Nigel has been obsessed with the American South since he spent six months working in a children’s home in Charleston, SC when he was 18. Since then he’s attended the Liars Contest in Columbia, Tennessee, the Low Country Shrimp Festival in South Carolina and slept in a concrete wigwam built in 1937 along the ‘Dixie Highway’ in Kentucky. Closer to home Nigel co-runs the Tufnell Park Film Club in North London. You can follow him on Twitter @nigelcsmith.

Don’t get vexed, get vexilologial!

Do you like flags? Of course you don’t, you probably have functioning social skills instead! But people are willing to fight and die for flags, so they may be worth more of our attention than we’d initially think. Flags are packed with far more symbolism than most people realise. Learn why, like Italian cooking, in the world of flags sometimes less is more, and how Holland’s humble beginnings revolutionised flags as we know them today

Self-loathing Recruitment Manager by day, lazy good-for-nothing by night, Andrew Grace is a flag and national anthem enthusiast who is as confused as anyone as to how he maintains his interests while still maintaining an active social life. He eagerly awaits the Olympic Games every two years in which his sordid pet interests become practical skills for two glorious weeks. He is a dirty foreigner who has conned the home office out of a visa despite a hatred of fish & chips, Ribena and rich tea biscuits.

My favourite obscure conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories are dangerous and pernicious. But while they must be combatted, we also need to acknowledge their audacity and creativity – they are a testament to human ingenuity. In this talk I will present my favourite obscure conspiracy theories. I will also add in one that I made up. Can you spot the fake fake facts?

Dr Keith Kahn-Harris describes himself as ‘professionally curious’ but doesn’t really know what that means. His book on denialism comes out in 2018.

All proceeds from Nerd Nite London go to charity. This year we are partnering with the Shine Trust to help foster a new generation of nerds. More information about Nerd Nite London can be found by following us on Twitter @nerdnitelondon, liking us on Facebook www.facebook.com/NerdNiteLondon or visiting www.london.nerdnite.com. For more information about the Shine Trust visit www.shinetrust.org.uk

Love Hurts: Nerd Nite London February 21st – early nerd tickets on sale now

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: the Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL

Details: Wednesday February 21st

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets available here.

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

Screw V-day. There’s only one day in February that matters, and that’s Nerd Nite London’s Valentine’s day special. This month we gather to celebrate the pain, misery and heartbreak of being in love, and the lengths that people are willing to go for it. Be there, and be square.

Yes, you really can die of a broken heart.

Love is the most powerful emotion in human existence. If you are one of the lucky ones to find your ‘soulmate’ in life, there may be an ultimate price to pay at the end of this beautiful journey. In this talk Nelson will show you some data and case studies to show that you can love someone too much.

Nelson Chong is a lecturer, a scientist and a practising romantic. He’s a sucker for rom-coms and thinks there is someone for everyone in this world. He also thinks the heart is the most important organ in the body and dabbles in how it works and what happens to our body when it breaks.

The Stonewall Riots: How love kickstarted a revolution

A brief history of the Stonewall Riots, how and why they happened, how they sparked a movement, and the unsung and unknown heroes that started it.

This talk will explore the context of the riots, the oppression against LGBT people and the riots and social upheavals that happened before and after the riots.

Lola Phoenix is an agender identified LGBT activist, working in various capacities for a better world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people since the age of 12. Lola volunteers for a range of organisations including Action for Trans Health and Stonewall Housing.

Love, lust and betrayal in mythology

From ancient Greece to Celtic Ireland, come on a journey through world mythology to explore one of the most enduring themes within the human narrative. Looking at these ancient stories we will explore love’s potential to make us, but, more often than not to break us. In these stories it rarely ends happily ever after.

Lonan Jenkins is a storyteller and writer with the Embers Collective. He is fascinated by the gritty, dark themes of world mythology, particularly the Celtic and Norse stories. Love and its destructive nature is potentially the darkest and grittiest of them all.

Nerd Nite January 17th- tickets on sale now

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: the Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL

Details: Wednesday January 17th

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets available here.

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

New year, new nerds, new facts. Welcome to 2018. This month we’ll be learning about 3D printing, quantum physics, and the history of London in one street. Be there and be square.

A London Street Through Time – Stoke Newington Church Street 1847-2017

London streets have changed considerably since the early Victorian period as once-quiet residential streets became bustling commercial hubs, suffered post-war decline and in some cases were slowly gentrified over time. Amir will present his analysis of the commercial occupants of Stoke Newington Church Street from 1847 to the present day (291 properties!). The research tells the colourful story of one street in the last 170 years, that is also story of London as a whole.

Amir Dotan is a life-long history buff, who as a hobby researches the history of Stoke Newington in North-East London, where he has lived since 2002. He organises local history events and shares his research findings online at www.Twitter.com/HistoryOfStokey. When he isn’t trawling through archives and history books Amir designs financial applications in the City.

Tales from 3D printing adventures

An introduction to life with 3D printers. Hannah show you some exciting current applications in different industries and how difficult printers can actually be behind the hype. She will share tips, tricks, facts and fails she has picked up along the way.
Hannah Cameron is a maker by trade and 3D printing specialist. She has her own printer named Extrudy Mcstrudeface and uses him to anthropomorphize her printing adventures.

Wtf is Quantum Physics? (And why should you care?)

Quantum is an often used but little understood word. It seems almost science fiction, however it is anything but. This presentation will outline some simple real-world truths about quantum physics to demystify the topic for you and show you how it is used in technology today, cutting-edge research and in nature all the time.
Shaun Geaney is currently studying for his doctorate in metrological quantum physics at the National Physical Laboratory. His work involves building a novel microscope that uses microwave radiation to detect and observe individual defects – the nature and cause of which is unknown – that exist in superconducting quantum bits (or “qubits”) that are used in quantum computing.

November 21st- line up change

Robin Lamboll has been asked to travel for work and won’t be able to speak at this month’s event. Instead, we’ll have the wonderful Cerys Bradley talking about LGBTQ etymology. If it was slam poetry that you were looking for, we will be rescheduling Robin at a later date. Sorry for the change in plans!

Nerd Nite London

November 21st- tickets on sale now

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: the Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL

Details: Tuesday November 21st

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets available here.

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

This month we’ll be learning about the Japafication of food, why mobiles have changed everything but the movies, and LGBTQ etymology. With special guest host Dominique Morneau.

Japafied: Using History and Data to invent new and daricious foods

From sushi to tempura to ramen, Japan has a history of importing foods from other countries and passing them off as their own. By the end of this talk, you too will be able to take any dish and make it Japanese, using a Japafication method based on data, history, and three basic culinary prompts.

Growing up Canadian in a mixed Japanese-German household, Hana Etsuko Dethlefsen is perfectly poised to translate authentic Japanese cooking to an English-speaking audience. While living in Japan she did just that: her monthly column, Forking with Hana helped fellow ex-pats navigate the grocery aisles and keep them well fed. Author of Let’s Cooking and co-host of “One World Kitchen”, Hana now spends her days managing the Hackney museum and developing recipes for her new cookbook.

The invention of lesbianism

The LGBTQ community uses many words to describe itself, but where did these words come from and how did they come to be associated with us? This talk looks at the history of words such as lesbian and queer, tracing them all the way back to their first recorded uses.

Cerys Bradley is a PhD student, stand up comedian and amateur LGBT+ historian who researches Dark Net Markets by day and the history of the community by night, well, early evening and at the weekends

Mobile has changed everything but the movies

In a little under 25 years mobile phones and smart phones have transformed the word. Two thirds of the 7.5bn people on Planet Earth have them, with many countries having more phones than people. But you wouldn’t know it by watching the movies. In this talk Peter will show data and case studies of the transformation of the world, and Hollywood’s best efforts to ignore it.

Peter Gasston is an author, speaker and technologist at a digital agency in London. He’s been around long enough to remember life without mobile phones.

October 17th- Early nerd tickets on sale now

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: the Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL

Details: Tuesday October 17th.

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets available here

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

This month we’ll be learning why we forget, the story behind the ampersand (&)and all about the bad ass feminists of nature. Be there and be square.

#1 Why am I always forgetting where my keys are? How memory in the brain works

Are you typically forgetting where you put your keys? Which events do you remember well? What you had for lunch yesterday? The clothes you were wearing at your wedding? What you did three weeks ago? Clearly some memories stay and some don’t. Why? Let’s see what happens in your brain while you are memorizing…

Dr Claudia Clopath is a Lecturer in the Bioengineering Department at Imperial College London. Her passion is to understand how the brain works. She loves computers, maths, and models. This is her second nerd nite talk.

#2 &?

Pedants argue over when it should and shouldn’t be used. Typographers wallow around for hours finding exactly the one they’re after. But how have ampersands evolved? What are the strangest ones? Lydia has been on a voyage of nerdery to find out.

On the unreliable evidence of an ad for paintbrushes, Lydia Thornley has been making images since she was in a high chair. Now a communication designer, Lydia’s decider for taking on projects is, “Is it interesting?”.

#3 Bad Ass Feminists* of Nature

Which creatures have the most bad ass females? Find out about sexual dimorphism in a variety of creatures and learn about the lizards that don’t even need a male.

Catherine Webb is writer, teacher, podcast maker and science enthusiast. She is currently studying for a science communication master’s degree at Imperial College London. She is also (of course!) a strident feminist.

*we can’t with 100% certainty claim that these animals understand the concepts of feminism, but you never know.

Next nerd nite- Tues Sept 19th. Early nerd tickets on sale Sept 1.

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Where: the Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL

When: Tuesday September 19th.

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets will go on sale at the beginning of September. Available here

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

This month we’ll be launching at a new venue with one of our favourite speakers (Pete Brown) with one of our favourite topics (beer). We’ll also be welcoming two new nerds to the stage talking about human history, DNA, and using stats to save lives. Join us, be there and be square.

Miracle Brew: The Nature and Science of Beer

We’ve been brewing and drinking beer for thousands of years, without understanding how or why the brewing process works. In the Middle Ages, yeast was called ‘godisgoode’ because no one had any idea what fermentation was. From the birth of brewing (and civilization) in the Middle East, through an exploration of water’s unmurky depths and the surreal madness of drink-sodden hop-blessings in the Czech Republic, this talk will explain some of the nature and science of beer.

Pete Brown is a beer and ale lover and nerd nite favourite. He writes for newspapers and magazines around the world and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme. He was named British Beer Writer of the Year in 2009, 2012 and 2016, and Fortnum & Mason Drink Book Winner in 2017.

Inferring Human History using DNA

We’ve all wondered at some point who are we, where did we come from and how did we get here? Whilst these questions have traditionally been addressed through oral traditions, written records, history and archaeology, DNA also contains a record of our past interactions and events. Using a method that compares the DNA of different people to make ancestry inference, this presentation will show how genetics can be used to uncover the stories of not only people alive today but also those who died thousands of years ago.

Lucy van Dorp is a population geneticist working at University College London Genetics Institute. She’s fascinated by what DNA can tell us about our own evolution and loves getting to tell people all about the science she does

Probably certain decision-making

Life is all about decisions- what to study, who to marry, what colour socks to wear- but how can we possibly make the ‘best’ decision? If we’re lucky we may even have some information, but it’s usually impossible take account of everything. In the context of health care, where scarce resources and people’s lives are at stake, the pressure to make the right decision is cranked up to 11. This talk will delve in to current decision-analytics to try and find the answers to a few life and death questions.

Nathan Green is a statistician and mathematical modeller. He has modelled mathematically and statistic’ed things like hospital-acquired infections, TB, chlamydia and pandemic flu. He works at Imperial College London

Would you like to speak at nerd nite this autumn?

Do you have some nerdery that London needs to know about? We are currently recruiting speakers for our autumn/winter line up. Would you like to speak at one of our events?

If so, here’s what you need to do

1) Concoct a fun, yet descriptive, title of your presentation.

2) Write a 3-5 sentence fun, yet intelligent, description of your presentation.

3) Write a 1-3 sentence fun, yet informative, bio.

4) Check your diary to see which date(s) you are available.

5) Email us () with points 1-4, and we’ll be in touch to schedule you in.

Here are the dates we’re recruiting for:

Tues Sept 19th 2017

Tues Oct 17th 2017

Tues Nov 21st 2017

Wed Jan 17th 2018

Wed Feb 21st 2018

Wed March 21st 2018

Wed April 18th 2018

Wed May 16th 2018

Wed June 20th 2018

Wed Sep 19th 2018

Wed Oct 17th 2018

Wed Nov 21st 2018

If you haven’t been to a nerd nite before, we suggest you come to one or two to get a feel for the style of the event before you volunteer*. If you have been to an event, but still have more questions before you volunteer, feel free to drop us a line.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Louise and the nerd nite london team.

*Please note, we do not pay our speakers. Sorry about that.

June 3rd- Nerd Nite London at Stoke Newington Literary Festival

Nerd Nite London- June 3^rd

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: Library Gallery, 184 Stoke Newington Church Street, N160JS

Details: Saturday June 3rd.

Tickets: General admission £6, Tickets available here

Doors open 7.30pm, event starts 8pm

Nerd Nite London returns to Stoke Newington Literary Festival with myths, legends, spiders, corpses, and an explanation of the origins of the dollar sign. Be there and be square.

The Corpse on the Tube and other Urban Legends
Just as fairy tales warn of the dangers of going into the woods alone and explain strange things in the rural landscape, London’s urban legends are often horror stories about going alone down into the London underground, and the folklore of strange things in the cityscape. Plague pits seethe beneath your feet, corpses ride on the tube and secret tunnels lead to…..? Some of these urban legends are older than they appear; others are new stories posing as history. Scott will tell these contemporary folktales, map them across London and then show how they may have come to be.

Scott Wood is the author of London Urban Legends: The Corpse on the Tube and the (occasional) Fortean London column for Londonist, co-host of the Forteana Podcast and host of the London Fortean Society.

Gossamer Days: Spiders, humans and their threads
What happens when one making animal meets another? This presentation will look at the human uses of spider silk, from gun sights to sticky tunics via acoustic lures, royal underwear and the mystery of the disappearing spider goats, examining the strange, centuries long entanglement between humans and spiders.

Eleanor Morgan is an artist living in London. She uses printmaking, sculpture, video and drawing to explore materials and processes of making. This has included serenading a spider, making a diamond from the dead creatures of the River Thames and embracing a giant green sea anemone. Eleanor is the author of the illustrated book ‘Gossamer Days: Spiders, Humans and Their Threads’ (Strange Attractor Press)

Why Australia is called Australia
From Nike trainers to Trident Gum, Dan Walker Smith traces the contemporary world around us back to ancient myths. And in the sometimes tradition of nerd nite presenters keeping to topic, he will explain why Australia is called Australia.

Dan Walker Smith has tried his hand at stand up & radio presenting, break dancing and improv. He is a regular speaker at Nerd Nite London. He likes myths and folklore, travel and snowboarding.

All proceeds from Nerd Nite London go to charity. For Stoke Newington Literary Festival, proceeds go to support literacy projects in Hackney. More information about Nerd Nite London can be found by following us on Twitter @nerdnitelondon, liking us on Facebook www.facebook.com/NerdNiteLondon or visiting www.london.nerdnite.com. For more information about the Stoke Newington Literary Festival, visit: http://stokenewingtonliteraryfestival.com/the-programme/

Nerd Nite London turns 4! May 17th

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along.

Address: V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9PA

Details: Wednesday 17^th May.

Tickets: Early nerd tickets £6, general admission £7.50. Tickets available here

Doors open 6.30pm, event starts 7.30pm

This month we’ll be celebrating our 4^th birthday with our favourite things: facts and beer. We’ll be learning if maths can help you fall in love? Why do they teach maths in school, and how did they decide to teach it as they do? And is Asgard bacteria the ‘missing link’ between microbes and our ancestors? Be there and be square.

1+1 always equals 2. So why does maths education keep changing?

School maths, love it or hate, you had to do it! Maths is a core subject in UK schools that every student has to study until they are 16 years old. But who decided this and why? How did maths become such an important subject? Was it always this important? This talk will look at the history of maths education and the many changes that have led to its high standing in the English education system. The talk will also discuss what the future looks like for maths education in England

Susan-Louise Okereke has been teaching maths for over 11 years. In that time she had taught a wide variety of people, from primary children to NEET (Not in employment, education or training) young people to pensioners. She currently teaches maths in a south London inner city secondary academy, while also working with organisation like the Museum of London to design contextual maths resources that aim to bring maths to life.

The mathematics of love: a combination of the sensual and the statistical

Want to save yourself from the pain of one-sided love? Maybe a mathematical model can help? Worried that your love isn’t going to last? There’s another mathematical model with a 90% success rate for predicting divorces, based simply on a 15 minute video of the couple. This talk combines the sensual and the statistical, the arousing and the analytical, the titillating and the trigonometric, the X-rated and the exact. Learn to look at love from a mathematician’s point of view.

Tim Bush became interested in the mathematical modelling of romantic love while studying for his PhD in Physics at the University of Edinburgh. He has also worked on mathematical models of bacteria, honeybees, geology and astrobiology, and now works as a Data Scientist in London. Previously, he worked on mathematical models of lakes at the University of Amsterdam. In his free time he enjoys board games, video games and boxing

Asgard bacteria of Loki’s castle

The origin of advanced life such as plants and animals has long been as mysterious as the origin of life itself: how could invisibly small microbes evolve to become as complex as trees, humans, cats, or dogs? Recent discoveries in “Loki’s Castle”, a network of hydrothermal vents a mile deep in the North Atlantic have revealed a startling clue: the vents were inhabited by a family of unusual microbes that suggest a “missing link” between microbes and complex life. In this talk I’ll describe the fascinating story behind our developing understanding of where we came from, and how

Dr. Morgan Beeby leads a research lab at Imperial College, London, focusing on the evolution of the wide diversity found in the biology of bacteria. Prior to Imperial College he studied at Caltech, UCLA, and the University of Birmingham.