Nerd Nite London - March 2019

NERD NITE LONDON, WHERE IT’S HIP TO BE SQUARE.

WE HOST A MONTHLY EVENT IN EAST LONDON WHERE WE INVITE NERDS TO COME SPEAK ABOUT INTERESTING STUFF, WHILE WE DRINK BEER AND LEARN THINGS. EVIDENCE BASED ENTERTAINMENT, IN A BAR.. THIS MONTH WE DISCUSS BRAIN CONTROL, TERRIFYING MUSHROOMS AND AN INTRO TO TYPOGRAPHY

BE THERE AND BE SQUARE

Brain control using electricity and magnets

Magnets and electricity have the power to change the way the body functions. These tools can be used for good, such as to help brain damage, and potentially for evil, if you want to control someone else! Can you remove someone’s free will and move their body with YOUR brain? Come to the talk and find out!

Helen is a Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at Lancaster University. She studies how the speech and movement areas of the brain work in adult humans. She does not abuse her access to magnets or electricity to mind-control her subjects.

Why we should all be terrified of mushrooms 

With names like the Devil's Fingers, Bleeding Tooth, Destroying Angel and Dog Stinkhorn mushrooms, it's frankly surprising more people aren't afraid of them. Learn how a single mushroom can release up to 2.7 billion ballistospores per day and what stops those spores from growing in our lungs and suffocating us. We’ll take a dive deep into how underground networks of mycelia roots let mushrooms communicate and even poison other plants, and why they're the most likely cause of a zombie apocalypse (seriously, mushrooms are terrifying).

Michelle is not a mycologist, and is in no way academically qualified to talk about mushrooms. She is, however, mycophobic, and having earned two degrees by rambling about dystopian worlds in a paranoid fashion, this talk was just a matter of time. By day she works in marketing, trying not to think about mushrooms (or the end of the world).

Just my type: a brief introduction to typography

Is it “font” or “typeface”? Why would you choose Times New Roman over Helvetica? What’s my type? Calibri? In this Nerd Nite talk, Jen Ku will give you an intro to typography and the power behind the little letters we use, see, and read everyday; hopefully bringing you closer to finding your type or taking a second thought when urging to choose that Comic Sans.

Jen is a designer, lettering artist and type nerd. She dreams, thinks and tells her stories through typography. Her obsession with type brought her onto exciting adventures, saved her from becoming the doctor or lawyer her parents wanted her to be, and shaped her into the creative she is today.

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