Nerd Nite London - October 2022

Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines, while the audience drinks along. This October, we're going to be learning about Hadyn's tarnished reputation, how the British media thinks Jews look and what the heck is the metaverse is! 

Be there and be square.

Address: The Backyard Comedy Club, 231 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 0EL / also online*

Details: Wed 19 October 2022. Doors open at 7PM, event starts at 7.30PM.
The online stream* will go live at 7:15PM, with the speakers starting at 7.30PM and will be available for around 24 hours.
 

Haydn’s head

Joseph Haydn was named the 'Father of the String Quartet' and his legacy still lives on. But how did he also get dragged into an incredibly tangled affair including scheming, pseudo-science, lawsuit wars and one of the most elaborate funeral plans in the history of classical music? To say any more would require a spoiler alert...

Ripley F. is a proofreader/editor who, in a previous life, was a concert pianist in Greece. Ripley currently sings in a humanist choir, and enjoys reading and baking.

Jews and stock photos
Why all Jews look exactly the same? Well no, all Jews do not look exactly the same. But the British media often use exactly the same stock photo to illustrate articles about Jews - and you have almost certainly seen it. Keith Kahn-Harris has tracked down the story behind the stock photo and has gone even further: Collaborating with the photographer on a book designed to show that not all Jews wear black hats and have long beards.
Keith Kahn-Harris is a sociologist and writer. His latest books are The Babel Message: A Love Letter to Language and What does a Jew look like?

The metaverse says: you're awful.

The ‘metaverse’ is one of the newest and most insufferable tech buzzwords that’s been sloshing up and down our newsfeeds recently. Five years ago, if you wanted someone to fund your idea, you probably needed to put the word ‘blockchain’ or ‘AI’ into the email subject line — now all you need is ‘metaverse’. What’s with all the hype? And what the heck is a ‘metaverse’ anyway? In this talk we will take a look at why everyone’s talking about it, what it is, and how it might shape our personal internet futures.
Georgia Iacovou is a writer who lives in London with two cats and one chicken. To make money, she writes persuasive policy papers for government officials to read, so that they might be more well-equipped to make laws that actually regulate the tech sector. She also writes the popular weekly tech newsletter Horrific/Terrific, and produces a quarterly zine of dystopian fiction called Mutual Dislike.

All proceeds from Nerd Nite London go to charity. this year we are partnering with The Shine Trust to help foster a new generation of nerds.

More information about Nerd Nite London can be found by following us on Twitter @nerdnitelondon, liking us on Facebook at nerdnitelondon or visiting london.nerdnite.com. for more information about The Shine Trust visit shinetrust.org.uk.