London events for people with curious minds.
Monday 14 November
URBAN PLANNING: Who sets the agenda internationally for the way cities are managed and developed. Does anyone? Did you ever think about it? The global urban development community certainly thinks about it, and present their brightest and best in a panel discussion tonight at 10 Bonhill Street (near Old Street), in the first of several salons from The Global Urbanist. FREE, 6pm
ASTRONOMY: Noted science writer (and occasional Londonist retweeter) Marcus Chown is at Waterstone's Gower Street to demo his award-winning solar system app. £8/£5, 7pm
NUMBERS: This month's SameAs salon is all about numbers, featuring the cube-root of 27 speakers (notably 'stand-up mathematician' Matt Parker). Following the talks, there's always a fun and informal mingling session. Second floor of The Driver in King's Cross. FREE, 7pm
TECHNOLOGY: Do we love our machines so much that we risk becoming more like them? What will we lose if we do? Fascinating questions, addressed tonight by Bryan Appleyard and Rod Liddle at the RSA. This one's now fully booked, but there's a waiting list and you can listen live via the website. FREE, 7pm
PARANORMAL: The London Skeptics In The Pub turn their attentions to things that go bump, grrrah and hiss in the night. Deborah Hyde is at the Monarch in Camden to discusses why humans believe in silly beings like vampires, angels and ghosts. £2, 7.30pm
Tuesday 15 November
SPORT: How fast can Usain Bolt run? John Barrow turns his mathematical eye to sport by examining the mechanics of sprinting, at this Gresham lecture at the Museum of London. FREE, 1pm
STEM CELLS: Learn how scientists are developing methods to create replacement organs from stem cells, in a UCL lunch hour lecture. FREE, 1.15pm
FOOD SCIENCE: Tea, doughnuts, chocolates? It's like the SCI team are trying to bribe people into coming along to this talk about the properties of fats, at UCL's Ramsay Lecture Theatre. FREE, 6pm
CONNECTIVITY: Aleks Krotoski introduces the second of a three-part series on connectivity at the Royal Institution. She welcomes James Burke who discusses if the rise of the internet could put an end to scarcity, and what an abundance of abundance might do to society. £10/£7, 7pm
ZOMBIES: Not enough of the UK's science budget is spent on zombie research. Doctor Austin of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies is a rare light in this neglected area. Tonight, Wednesday and Thursday, the good Doctor speculates on how a zombie outbreak might occur, and how we could contain it. This event, part of the London Horror Festival, takes place at the Courtyard Theatre near Old Street. £12/£10, 7.30pm
Wednesday 16 November
SCIENCE FANTASY: Could dragons fly? How about angels? A Pegasus? Professor Roger Wotton investigates the biological feasibility of these unlikely creatures from mythology, in a fun-sounding Robert Grant Lecture at UCL's JZ Young Theatre. The talk is followed by a free glass of wine and visit to the Grant Museum. FREE, 6pm
SUSTAINABILITY: The Dana Centre tonight hosts an event about sustainability in the city, to ask if we can engineer a greener metropolis. FREE, 7pm
SPACE: The Sky At Night's Chris Lintott is at the British Interplanetary Society in Lambeth to talk about attitudes towards human spaceflight. FREE, 7pm
Thursday 17 November
SEXY SCIENCE: Why do so many animals, including humans, have same-sex sexual behaviour when it appears to conflict with evolutionary principles? Find out in UCL's Darwin Theatre in this lunch hour lecture. FREE, 1.15pm
POPULAR SCIENCE: The Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books gets awarded tonight, but not before a stimulating evening of talks about some of the shortlisted volumes. Familiar names such as Robert Llewellyn, Rchard Holmes, and the Guardian's Ian Sample are on the roll call. FREE, 6.30pm
ARCHITECTURE: Hear from veteran engineer Tony Hunt, reflecting on a career of collaboration with some of the world's most famous architects. FREE, 6.30pm
HISTORY OF SCIENCE: The Royal Society of Chemistry (Burlington House, Piccadilly) pays tribute to Marie Curie, on the centenary of her Nobel Prize for Chemistry. FREE, 6.30pm
COMEDY: Clown Prince of the geeks Robin Ince is at Stratford Circus with his show Happiness Through Science. £14/£10, 8pm
Friday 18 November
HISTORY OF SCIENCE: Learn about the mostly forgotten 19th Century scientist and spiritualist William Crookes in a lunchtime lecture at the Royal Society. FREE, 1pm
Saturday 19 November
MORE ZOMBIES: The Bishopsgate Institute wonders how we can know whether other people are really conscious, and explains why neuroscientists might be interested in zombies. The mind boggles (then gets eaten). FREE, 2.30pm
Did we miss anything? Let us know below. To tip us off about upcoming events, please email [email protected].
