Week In Geek: 22-28 April 2013

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By M@ Last edited 140 months ago

Last Updated 20 April 2013

Week In Geek: 22-28 April 2013


London events for people with curious minds. As recommended by the Daily Mail. Yes, really.

Monday 22 April

MEDTECH: Apparently, it's possible to pick up the signs of Parkinson's Disease via a voice recording, raising the possibility of monitoring a sufferer via the telephone. A Cafe Scientifique (don't be put off by the name...they're friendly, inclusive events) at the Royal Society will look at the possibilities. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

FOOD MATHS: This month's Science London event, pleasingly upstairs at The Lamb, is all about the maths of food, from beer to biscuits. The speaker is Chris Budd, whose name sounds suitably like 'Crisp pud'. Free, just turn up, 7pm

Tuesday 23 April

HISTORY: If you've ever been to the splendid Hunterian Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, you'll be aware of the Royal College of Surgeons, who look after it. A lunchtime talk at the museum traces the history of the RCS, from its foundation in 1800 to its Blitzing in 1941. £4, prebook, 1pm

CELLS: How does your ear know to be precisely ear-shaped, and not sprawl out over the side of your face like a spam fritter*? The way your cells divide and proliferate, and stop doing so when they're supposed to, is remarkable when you think about it. When the process goes wrong, you get tumours. Peter Lawrence speaks at the Royal Society on recent research in this area. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

GEOLOGY: What goes on beneath our feet, and who gives a frack? Hazel Gibson talks geology at this month's Skeptics in the Pub, at the Monarch, Camden Town. £3, just turn up, 7.30pm

Wednesday 24 April

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Two top physicists (including one of the key figures behind 'invisibility cloak' technology) and the the editor of Nature take to the stage at the Royal Society to look at the touch-points of science and society. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

QUANTUM: The quantum isn't just a unit of solace. Jeff Forshaw is at the Royal Institution to introduce the quantum world and its many oddities. £10, prebook, 7pm

Thursday 25 April

WOMEN AND ART: The art world is still heavily skewed towards men. For example, only a quarter of artists exhibiting at the 2013 Venice Art Biennale are women. A Fitzrovia Lates talk at Hammi Gallery examines why this disparity still exists. Free, prebook, 7.30pm

Friday 26 April

TEDxLBS: The latest TEDx event to hit London is the TEDxLondon Business School event running today at the Royal Geographic Society. Meet creative minds from the worlds of business, science, technology and arts. £66.95, prebook, 9.30pm

HISTORY OF SCIENCE: How did the media cope with Einstein's theories of relativity? A lunchtime talk at the Royal Society (whose event team must be on steroids this week) takes a look. Free, just turn up, 1pm

SOLAR ACTIVITY: Like a truculent teen, the sun periodically fizzes into hyperactivity, before settling down into a sulk. Helen Mason is at the Royal Institution to describe these solar cycles and the instruments we have for measuring them. The event is a 'Friday Evening Discourse', which means its customary to dress up posh for some reason. £10, prebook, 8pm

Saturday 27 April

DOCTOR WHO: You could stay in and watch the latest installment of the increasingly ropey series 7 (actually, tonight's should be good, as we get a deeper look inside the TARDIS), or you could head to the Cinema Museum, where original TARDIS crew member William Russell (Ian Chesterton) gives a talk. £8.50, prebook, 6.30pm (thanks to Ian Visits for the tip-off)

*For the younger audience, these were deep-fried discs of 'meat', found only in 1980's school canteens and the waste bins outside those canteens. Nothing to do with dodgy email detection.

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments, or email [email protected] to tip us off about upcoming events.