This Thursday, Nerd Nite Orlando turns SIX YEARS OLD!
On March 14th, we are celebrating six years of thinking and drinking. Brendan Byrne and Dr. Krista Noble will be joining us as guest speakers. We’ll also have some trivia, the return of the Dry T-Shirt Contest, and an important announcement.
Click here to sign up.
WHEN: Thursday, March 14, 2019 – 6-9pm
WHERE: Celine Orlando, 22 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Suggested Donation: $10 (Come on-time, we have an open bar from 6 to 6:30pm)
Doors: 6pm
Show: 7pm
PRESENTATION #1: “Why the Heck Are We Conscious? The Hard Problem of Consciousness” by Krista Noble
Everyone agrees that our mental processes (meaning our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions) correspond with physical processes in our brains. The question is, how and why? Why do we have subjective experiences at all? Why aren’t we genetically programmed to pursue survival, yet lacking consciousness? These fundamental questions still plague scholars in spite of our most advanced scientific discoveries.
29-year-old Krista Noble received her PhD in Vedic (ancient Indian) studies, with an emphasis on philosophy of mind and theories of consciousness. She is now a professor at three universities. Krista lives in New Smyrna Beach, where she enjoys biking, kayaking, and watching sci-fi on Netflix.
PRESENTATION #2: “To Boldly Go: A Brief History of the Space Toilet” by Brendan Byrne
Human spaceflight has been plagued by waste. From urine-soaked spacesuits to floating turds, the history of human spaceflight is flush with dirty (and hilarious) anecdotes of dealing with waste in space. Engineers seem to have a handle on #1 & #2 as we explore low Earth orbit, but the future of deep space exploration hinges on our ability to overcome a heaping pile of physiological, biological and engineering problems. So how will we do it? WMFE’s space reporter Brendan Byrne has been exploring the history of the space toilet for a new book and presents a brief history of the galactic commode – and ideas for new hardware that will boldly take our poop to places like the moon and Mars.
Join us on Friday, March 1st for a special presentation of Nerd Nite at the Jacksonville Science Festival.
SIGN UP: bit.ly/nerdnitejsf
Nerd Nite is an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking presentations. Speakers present for 15 minutes on a fascinating subject. Presentations are followed by a brief Q&A with the audience.
The program begins at 7pm. Doors open at 6pm. Beer and wine will be available for sale. This is a FREE event. Only donations are accepted. bit.ly/nerdnitejsf
Jacksonville Science Festival
3675 San Pablo Rd S.
Jacksonville, FL 32224
PRESENTATION #1: “The Top 7 Life Lessons from Comic Book Adapted Films” by Ricardo Williams
Ricardo Williams is a filmmaker, musician, event organizer, and program manager. Since studying communications at Pace University in NYC, he’s appeared in commercials and independent films; and produced numerous albums. He’s also guest lectured on film theory and video production at New York’s School of Visual Arts. Currently, Ricardo is the host of Nerd Nite Orlando.
PRESENTATION #2: “The Nuclear Niche: Fungi that Survive and Thrive in the Heart of Chernobyl” by Matt Luby
The resilience of many species of fungi to various adverse conditions has been known to biologists for many years. It is only in the past three decades that we have begun to evaluate the ability of some fungi to not only survive extremely high doses of harmful radiation, but also to tap into it as an energy source. We’ll discuss not only how it happens, but what we might be able to do with our knowledge of this unique adaptation. Matt Luby is an Orlando native with a background in neuroscience research and science education. He currently spends most of his time being a board member at a hackerspace and operating a pedicab. When he has free time, he likes to travel about the world and/or run marathons.
PRESENTATION #3: “You Were Lost In The Storm: What Fortnite Tells Us About Attention, Addiction, and Climate Change” by Max Jackson
Max Jackson is the Lead Data Analyst at Hesperos, a company that grows miniature human organs on computer chips and and uses them to help replace animal testing. Outside of that he helps build awesome web apps at Code Hangar and gets commercial brain sensors to do fun things they’ve never done before.
Nerd Nite operates in over a hundred cities around the globe and finally comes to St. Pete! This monthly lecture event strives for an inebriated, salacious, yet deeply academic vibe. Several presenters totally geek out for 20 minutes each while guests drink and socialize – It’s like the Discovery Channel – with beer and cocktails! Drink, learn, connect, and talk about fun, interesting stuff!
Presenters:
CORY ANDERSON
Space – We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat!
DR. DEBY CASSILL
Animal Sex: Hands Free Fornication
BROOKLEN PORTER
Men in Black: Who or What are They?
Celebrate African-American literature in poetry, story and song, performed by local luminaries in conjunction with the 29th Annual National African-American Read-In. Among the notable readers this year are Paralympic athlete April Holmes, Emmy Award-winning journalist and WESH 2 anchor Jazmin Bailey, Ricardo Williams, and more.
WHEN: Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 2 PM – 4 PM
WHERE: Orange County Library System (FL)
101 E Central Blvd, Orlando, Florida 32801
Click here to RSVP
Join us for a special Valentine’s Day edition of Nerd Nite on Thursday, February 14th.
Click here to sign up.
Speed dating will begin at 7pm. Participants will have the opportunity to go on a series of 3-minute dates. At 8pm, we will begin our presentations.
You must be 18 years of age or older to sign up for speed dating. Advance online registration is required; walk-ups will be based on availability. Limit one sign-up per person. SPEED DATING IS FOR ALL NERDS. WE ARE LGBT-FRIENDLY. Please sign up for the category that best suits you.** bit.ly/nnfeb2019
If you are not participating in speed dating, you can still attend.
SPEED DATING AT 7:00pm
PRESENTATIONS AT 8:00pm
**We apologize if the predesignated categories do not cater to your identity or preference.
Join us on Thursday, January 10th as we return to Stardust Video & Coffee for the FIRST NERD NITE OF 2019.
Click here to RSVP.
Join us on Thursday, December 13th as we return to Stardust Video & Coffee for the LAST NERD NITE OF 2018.
Nerd Nite is an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking presentations. Speakers present for 15 minutes on a fascinating subject. Presentations are followed by a brief Q&A with the audience.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
Max Jackson
David Yarde
Hosted by Ricardo Williams
THIS IS A FREE EVENT. We only accept donations.
Click here to sign up.
PRESENTATION #1:
“You Were Lost In The Storm: What Fortnite Tells Us About Attention, Addiction, and Climate Change” by Max Jackson
Max Jackson is the Lead Data Analyst at Hesperos, a company that grows miniature human organs on computer chips and and uses them to help replace animal testing.
Outside of that he helps build awesome web apps at Code Hangar and gets commercial brain sensors to do fun things they’ve never done before.
PRESENTATION #2:
“7 Things Batman Taught Me About the Meaning of Life” by David Yarde
David Yarde is the co-founder and creative director at Sevenality. A brand strategy and design firm focused on building better communities by building better brands. With over 16 years experience in the tech space and secretly being Batman, David aims to inspire those around him to aim always upward and create more good in the process.
“Your Brain on Too Many Super Hero Movies | Computational Neuroscience of Art, Heroism, and Madness” by Max Jackson
Have you ever gotten so carried away by a story that you really felt like you were a character in that story? How does that happen? Is that dangerous? What does that tell us about the human mind?
In this talk we’ll be taking a look at the human brain to answer those questions and more, starting from the brain’s basic components and building our way up through the mind, touching on perception and attention and hallucination and imagination as we explore what it means to be human and how we can harness the power of the art we love to become who we want to be.
The presenter, Max Jackson, is the Lead Data Analyst at Hesperos, a Body-On-A-Chip company. He works to build new brains on computer chips to help fix our old brains when they break. He also builds apps with Code Hangar, a full stack web-app company that builds delightful apps for disruptive startups. The presentation was part of a special Nerd Nite event held in St. Petersburg, Florida. The teams from Nerd Nite Orlando and Miami organized the event.
Click here to watch the video.
Ricardo Williams talks about his Iron Man suit on display at Maker Faire this weekend.
