Week In Geek: 24-30 September 2012

M@
By M@ Last edited 138 months ago
Week In Geek: 24-30 September 2012


London events for people who want to learn stuff.

Monday 24 September

SNIFFLES: Does travelling around make you more prone to illness, and how can it be countered? Café Scientifique at the Royal Society, with Azra Ghani, should get you out of the house to tell you whether it's actually safe to leave the house. FREE, 6.30pm

SOCIAL MEDIA: A who's-who of people embroiled in social media storms assembles for Westminster Skeptics in the Pub tonight, to discuss the future of these disruptive technologies. Join them at The Monk Exchange in Victoria or follow online on @WestSkept. £2, 7.30pm

Tuesday 25 September

ARCHITECTURE: It's the last Tuesday of the month, which means it's open night at RIBA. Head along for a special evening devoted to buildings after they were famous (the word 'legacy' might just be bandied). FREE, 6-10pm

LONDON HISTORY: Londonist's M@ hosts this month's History in the Pub (upstairs at The Bell, Spitalfields), with an evening all about the various fires of London (no need for a warm-up act). Expect talks, music, quizzing fun and the usual open mic session for anyone who wants to speak. £3, 7pm, email admin@londonhistorians.org for a place

SEXY SCIENCE: This month's get-together from the Cosy Science crew takes place at the Cittie of Yorke in Holborn, where TV presenter Simon Watt (you might remember him from such works as Inside Nature's Giants) will talk about the weird ways that different animals get it on. FREE, 7pm

BAD MUSIC: Can Wagner give you homosexual urges, and does the US Army really use Metallica as a form of torture? Dr James Kennaway gives a talk at the Last Tuesday Society about the odder effects of music. £4-£10, 7pm

Wednesday 26 September

SUPERHEROES: Join scientists at Wellcome Collection for a drop-in workshop on improving the human body, as part of the Superhuman exhibition. FREE, 2-5pm, drop-in anytime

MEDICAL ODDITIES: A Gresham lecture at St Bartholomew's Museum explores some of the lesser known anatomical and medical exhibits around town. FREE, 6pm

EXTREME TAXIDERMY: Pat Morris is at the Last Tuesday Society to describe how the hell you stuff an elephant. £4-£12, 7pm start

HEROES: Roger Highfield is at the Royal Society to discuss scientific and technological heroes...individuals who become idols of their field, playing keepy-uppy with the football of progress, rather than passing to a team mate and sharing the glory. Do such figures — Newton, for example — help or hinder our views on the universe? FREE, 6.30pm

LATES: The Science Museum remains open till 10pm, with an adults-only evening devoted to climate science. FREE, 6.45pm

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY: Mark Henderson recently wrote a book called The Geek Manifesto. Naturally, this column has listed his promotional engagements many a-time. And here he is again at the Royal Institution, in conversation with Mark Aaronovitch about why scientific and rational thinking should be at the heart of politics. £10, 7pm

FLIGHT: A stupendous panel (including Bettany Hughes, Mike Jay and Iain Sinclair) each have 15 minutes to give their interpretation of 'flight' — from jet planes to Icarus. FREE, 7.30pm

COMEDY: Helen Arney's Voice of an Angle (not a typo) runs upstairs at Soho Theatre tonight and tomorrow. Expect geeky musical comedy with a Euclidian flavour. £10, 9pm

Thursday 27 September

GAMING: If you'd like a sneak peek at the most hotly anticipated video games, Earl's Court is your destination for EuroGamer Expo. One word: Carmageddon. Runs till 30 September. Prices variable.

GREEN PARENTING: How can you make sure that your little bundle of joy doesn't destroy the planet? The Science museum offers a few tips at a special green parenting session. FREE, 11am

SUPER SPECS: Try on a pair of self-adjusting spectacles, created to help people in developing countries who might not have access to an optician. The demo is part of Wellcome Collection's weekly late opening. FREE, 6-9pm

MUSEUM ODDITIES: Psst, wanna hear what goes on behind the scenes at London's most famous museums? Head along to the Wilmington Arms for Museums Showoff, in which gently inebriated museum staff share the goss. FREE (but suggested £5 donation), 7pm

MATHS: How to win that pub bet? Mathematician Rob Eastaway is at a Thinking Bob event at the Devereux pub near Temple to talk through some mathematical tricks that should see your mates getting the beers in. £4, 7pm

BUT I'M ALRIGHT NOOOOOOW!: This month's London Fortean Society talk looks at the natural historie of the European werewolf. Upstairs at the Bell, as usual, or just listen for the howl. £3/£2 concessions, 8pm

Friday 28 September

FEMINIST THEORY: Mary Wollstonecraft is well known as an early advocate of women's rights, but few would associate her with natural history. A lunchtime talk at the Royal Society examines how the she was influenced by the science of her time. FREE, 1pm

SPIDER KNEES: Drop into Wellcome Collection this afternoon to hear about a new material, inspired by spider silk, to help repair knee cartilage damage. FREE, 2-5pm

LEGO UNIVERSE: Help scientists create a LEGO model of the Universe, discover the science behind magic, watch the Naked Scientists' crisp packet fireworks, and take tours of the People's Palace in Mile End and the incredible Blizard Building in Whitechapel. It's all part of Researchers' Night, courtesy of Queen Mary University, at its Whitechapel and Mile end campuses. FREE, 3-9.30pm

SCIENCE UNCOVERED: Event of the week must surely go to the Natural History Museum, who (also as part of Researchers' Night) secrete 350 scientists and visiting experts around the museum, for around 200 separate events. Expect chaos, but only in a Mandelbrotian sense. FREE, 4-11pm

GAMING: Hideo Kokima is the brains behind the Metal Gear Solid series of games. He's at BAFTA on Piccadilly to discuss his career. £7.50, 7pm

HUMAN LIMITS: How far can we push our society technologically, and how did people in the past imagine the future would be? A two-day symposium at Wellcome Collection begins tonight with a screening of 'Aelita: Queen of Mars' (1924) one of the first films to depict space travel. £30 (includes tomorrow), 7pm

SCI-COMS: TV science can be really crappy, while web stuff like YouTube can really spread interest in science. So argues this talk tonight at the Royal Institution. £10, 8pm

Saturday 29 September

MAPS: London Transport Museum hosts an all-day symposium on the art of mapping and mapping in art. The stellar cast of speakers includes Londonist favourites Susan Stockwell and Simon Patterson. £30, 10am-4pm

HUMAN LIMITS: Wellcome Collection's symposium on the future of humanity (real and imagined) continues with a day of talks and discussions. £30, 10.30am-5pm

ELECTRONIC MUSIC: The Science Museum puts on an all-day event dedicated to the history of electronic music,  with a particular focus on 60s and 70s invention. Drop in to any of the several lectures. FREE, from 11.45, the final panel session (3.15pm) is £10.

Sunday 30 September

IMPROBABLE: Well, after saying the Natural History Museum has the event of the week, we found this. Mark Abrahams of IgNobel fame appears at Conway Hall with about a dozen other interesting people. Not to be missed. £10, 2pm

A busy week, but did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments. Or tip us off about future events by emailing matt@londonist.com

Last Updated 24 September 2012