Tag Archives: science in the pub

February PubSci: Darwin Day

Posted on January 19, 2012 by PaoloViscardi | 1 comment

On Tuesday 7th February we will be celebrating Darwin Day Upstairs at the Brixton Ritzy.

Paolo Viscardi will lead the celebrations with a talk on Darwin’s life, his evolutionary ideas and their lasting legacy. Then we can get down to the serious business of discussion about some of the issues raised over a beer.

Join us from 6pm if you want to get food, drink and conversation. The more formal bit won’t start until 7:30pm and the talk will probably kick off at 8pm. Oh, and as always, PubSci is free!

We hope you can make it!

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Tagged Brixton, Brixton Ritzy, cafe sci, cafe scientifique, Cinema, Darwin, event, geek, Geeks and Nerds, Science, science in the pub, social

PubSci SciPubQuiz

Posted on November 16, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | 1 comment

Science (Quiz) in the Pub

For December’s Science In The Pub there will be a science-themed pub quiz hosted by Kash Farooq and James Longstaff. The usual PubSci hosts Paolo and James get a night off – as they will be taking part in the quiz.

And, thanks to our good friends at the British Science Association, there will be some appropriately geeky/sciencey prizes that we will dish out as we see fit!

We suggest that you form teams of 3 or 4 people. Don’t worry if you don’t have have enough people – just turn up. We’re a friendly bunch and we’re sure we can get everyone into a team.

It might also be a good idea to “mix disciplines” when forming a team – each round will have questions from various areas of science. We’ve been busy thinking up questions for a few weeks now and have come up with a fairly wide variety.

To give you a clue of the sort of questions to expect, here are the categories we came up when we were thinking up questions:

Chemistry
Scientists
Geology
Astronomy/Space
Physics
Biology

See you on Tuesday 6th December from 7:30, upstairs at the Brixton Ritzy!

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Tagged Astronomy, Beer, British Science Association, Brixton, Geeks and Nerds, London, Pub, pubquiz, Pubsci, Quiz, Science, science in the pub, social

Moon

Posted on November 6, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | 1 comment

Next CineSci6 screening:

Moon – Sunday 13 November, 14:30

A lone worker on a lunar mining base begins to have very odd experiences just as he’s about to return home to Earth. For almost 3 years Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has been mining Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3, for Lunar Industries. But when a routine extraction goes horribly wrong, it becomes increasingly clear that his contract isn’t the only thing that is about to expire.

Duncan Jones’ stunning debut harks back to classic psychological sci-fi films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dark Star, not just in terms of the way it looks, but also in the way it forces us to explore issues of loneliness, isolation and our place in the vast cosmic canvas.

After the screening there will be a Q&A with Lewis Dartnell, from the Centre for Planetary Sciences Earth Sciences at University College London, and author of Life in the Universe: A Beginner’s Guide. Lewis will discuss this modern cult classic film, as well as the wider opportunities and concerns of human space exploration and lunar science. So, come join us on Sunday afternoon for a scientific journey into space.

You won’t be alone.

Post written by Simon Frantz, posted by PaoloV

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Tagged Astronomy, Beer, Cinema, cinesci6, Clapham Picturehouse, classic film, cult film, Dark Star, Duncan Jones, event, geek, Geeks and Nerds, Helium-3, Moon, Planetary science, Pubsci, Sam Rockwell, Science fiction, science in the pub, social, University College London

November PubSci – FIRE!

Posted on October 20, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | 3 comments

Fire Science

At 7:30pm on Tuesday 1st November 2011 (just a few days before Bonfire Night), we will be exploring the science of FIRE with Fire & Explosion scientist Claire Benson ‘Burner’.

This is your chance to find out about how and why forensic scientists undertake fire investigation, with details about everything from charring to explosive combustion.

Here’s a taster:

All of this excitement is free and can be had over a pint of beer, or perhaps some flaming sambucas if you really want to get into the mood.

Usual venue upstairs at the Brixton Rizty – hope to see you there!

(N.B. This video contains some of the greatest dance moves ever seen)

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Tagged Bonfire Night, Brixton, cafe sci, cafe scientifique, event, explosion, fire, Forensic science, geek, Geeks and Nerds, Guy Fawkes Night, Pub, Pubsci, Science, Science Communication, Science in Society, science in the pub, sitp, social

Forbidden Planet

Posted on October 11, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | 1 comment

Next CineSci6 screening:

Forbidden Planet 16 October, 2:30pm

For the next in our series of CineSci6 films, we’re inviting you to fasten your seat belts, put your space helmets on, and hang on tight, because we’ll be taking a trip through outer space to visit the Forbidden Planet.

This classic 1950s sci-fi, loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, tells the tale of a spaceship landing on a remote planet, populated only by Dr Morbius, his daughter and their robot Robby. The lone survivors of an earlier expedition, the doctor and his daughter say they have pieced together the secrets of the planet’s vanished race. So who, or what, is the invisible monster that begins to attack the human inhabitants with a vengeance?

A cult classic with groundbreaking special effects for its time, and one of sci-fi’s most loved robot characters, what better way could there be of spending a grey, autumnal Sunday afternoon?

After the screening there will be a Q&A with Oliver Morton, Energy and Environment Editor at The Economist, and author of “Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet“, a study of photosynthesis, its meanings and its implications, and “Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination and the Birth of a World“. The topic of conversation will be what makes a classic sci-fi film/story, beginning with the “Forbidden Planet” before broadening out to other films.

So come along, and enjoy a sci-fi classic and lively discussion over a few drinks. The screening begins at 2:30pm, see the Clapham PictureHouse site for more details.

Post written by Simon Frantz, posted by PaoloV

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Tagged Cinema, cinesci6, Clapham Picturehouse, classic film, cult film, Economist, Film, Forbidden Planet, geek, Geeks and Nerds, London, Movies, Robby the Robot, sci-fi, Science, Science fiction, science in the pub, social

October PubSci: Ig Nobel Prizes

Posted on September 25, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | Leave a comment

Ig Nobel Prizes

On 29th September 2011 a very exciting event will be taking place – the 21st Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.

For those who aren’t aware of the Ig Nobel Prizes, they celebrate the best of research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.

Past winners have carried out research on swearing as a response to pain, the microbiological laboratory hazard of bearded men and fellatio in fruitbats.

We don’t know who the winners for this year will be yet, but at 7:30pm Tuesday 4th October, Upstairs at the Ritzy in Brixton, be prepared to discuss and debate the finer points of the kind of science that brought us levitating frogs and homosexual necrophiliac mallards (which we have discussed before).

And of course, we will be running another live experiment. Hope to see you there!

To Boldly Go… to the Pub

Posted on August 11, 2011 by James Robson | 1 comment

September’s PubSci – Beer and Galaxies

On Tuesday 6th September Upstairs at the Brixton Ritzy starting at 7:30pm (although you can come earlier if you like) our Designated Scientist Alice Sheppard of Galaxy Zoo will give you a glimpse into the world of Astronomy and Citizen Science over a pint of something nice.

This will be followed by a live experiment and probably a debate (if previous months are anything to go by)!

Galaxy Zoo

Astronomy has been the subject of wonder and speculation for as long as historical records exist (and probably for longer than that). As with all science, people got some things right and – even with the best methods available – some things wrong.

Since 2007 Alice Sheppard has run the Galaxy Zoo Forum, the discussion area for an online astronomy project with 300,000 members worldwide. Galaxy Zoo has so far produced 21 papers, whose authors and acknowledged contributors include several ‘ordinary’ citizens. Some of the findings were a direct result of questions or collections of objects created by users, who became “Citizen Scientists”.

Alice takes us through some of the best and worst of astronomical history and what ancient and modern mistakes have been made. We will hear about the questions people have brought to Galaxy Zoo, the ways in which biases have been found and dealt with by the scientists and participants, the beautiful and inspiring projects created by untrained people and the scientific thinking they have learned to apply for themselves.

We also take a look at citizen science in general, how Galaxy Zoo has taught large numbers of people to understand and use science and we will explore what this might mean for engaging the wider public.

By day Alice is an office superviser at a charity for disabled people; by night she writes about science and astronomy

The Experiment

After the talk you will get the chance (or be forcibly coerced) to be involved in a live experiment.

The Debate

A chance to discuss the most recent issues in science, if you have something to get off your chest about science, now is the time to do it.

See you on Tuesday!

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Tagged Astronomy, Brixton, cafe sci, cafe scientifique, Citizen science, Debate, event, experiment, GalaxyZoo, geek, Geeks and Nerds, Pub, Pubsci, science in the pub, sitp

Sex, beer and science

Posted on July 31, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | 3 comments

On Tuesday 2nd August Upstairs at the Brixton Ritzy (starting at 7:30pm although you can come earlier if you like) we’re going to give you a glimpse into the seedier side of sex in nature, with PubSci founder James Robson providing an entertaining talk on the subject.

Then we plan to open the floor to discussion about the role of observation in science, using an Ig Nobel-winning paper (pdf) on homosexual necrophilia in Mallards to get the conversation started.

Ducks are dirty rapists

As usual there will also be an experiment, this one is topical and will involve beer.

Sex, beer and science – what’s not to love? Unless of course you’re Brian Foy and his wife, who experienced the phenomenon of a normally vector-borne virus being transmitted sexually after some fieldwork… at least they got a paper out of it (pdf).

See you on Tuesday!

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Tagged Beer, Brixton, cafe sci, cafe scientifique, Drink, experiment, Food, geek, Geeks and Nerds, James Robson, Mallard, Necrophilia, Pub, Pubsci, Recreation, Science, science in the pub, Sexuality, social

Join us for the July PubSci

Posted on July 2, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | Leave a comment

The June PubSci was a somewhat chaotic event as we tried an open-mic night. An edited podcast of the evening is available to hear at the Pod Delusion.

Our experiment for the evening was a simple reaction experiment that was meant to test the hypothesis that people’s reactions (measured by catching a ruler) would improve after one drink and then get progressively worse as they consumed more alcohol. Unfortunately the nature of the experiment made it difficult to keep track of exactly what was going on at times.

One factor that we failed to consider was the rate at which alcohol is metabolised (one unit per hour on average) so give the rate of alcohol consumption I’m not sure that many of our experimental subjects had actually increased their blood alcohol substantially over the course of the evening (sensible drinkers – who’d have thunk it?).

As a result, the averaged data from the evening looked like this (34 started the experiment of which 3 did not drink alcohol and 11 only had one drink, so were not included in the analysis, results are based on 20 drinkers – 9 female, 11 male) :

Not exactly unequivocal results, but at least they don’t contradict the experimental hypothesis.

Experiment aside, the open-mic format proved to be good fun and rather entertaining, but for July we plan to have a more structured evening hosted by our Designated Scientist Lizzie Crouch.

Lizzie is a self-confessed science geek who has spent 3 years working as a science researcher in factual television and is now studying Science Communication at Imperial College. She’s back from the Cheltenham Science Festival with a great booze-related experiment to get ideas (& the beers) flowing.

We’ll be starting at 7:30pm on Tuesday 5th July at the usual venue, Upstairs at the Ritzy. Come and join us for a free and informal evening of scientific thinking and peer-reviewed drinking.

Results and open-mic night

Posted on May 18, 2011 by PaoloViscardi | Leave a comment

Science in the Pub – it’s your round

The PubSci on 7th June 2011 Upstairs at the Ritzy in Brixton will kick off with Jenny Rohn reporting back on the results of last month’s wine-related experiment, before we open the floor for our first open-mic session.

So if you have a science related bee in your bonnet that you want to set free, anecdotes from the lab or from life, or if you just want to share something you think is interesting – this will be the perfect opportunity.

Of course we will be conducting another experiment during the evening and there will be a friendly and informal atmosphere for those who just want to sit back and soak up the geekiness of it all.

The event will kick off at 7:30pm this week, but you are welcome to join us from 6:30pm if you fancy a bite to eat from the Ritzy’s tasty menu.

Come and get your geek on!

Tag Archives: science in the pub

To Boldly Go… to the Pub

September’s PubSci – Beer and Galaxies

Time & place

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